Ancestral Power: A Tale of a New Storm
by FirstStory
Summary: With the war won at a cost, Naruto is given a second chance to live the life that had been taken from him due to the mistakes of his predecessors. Blessed with the powers of the Sage, gifted with the abilities of his parents, and joined by his most trusted partner, Naruto will enter the land of Fiore with the intent to find a new purpose.
1. CH1: A Return to the Living

CH1: The Return to the Living

Person/Human talking

Person/Human thinking/flashback

Demon talking

Demon thinking

 _ **Technique name**_

Official Chapter One

 **The Battlefield**

Hinata Hyuga opened her bleary eyes to find herself being lowered to the ground by set of vines that seemed to have formed a cocoon around her. Observing her surroundings, she saw hundreds of other cocoons release shinobi to the ground much like herself.

As soon as she felt the cracked earth beneath her feet, she activated the Byakugan to find him. It didn't even take her a second. In an instant, she was able to find his and Sasuke's chakra signatures a couple kilometers away... along with a chakra mass of epic proportions.

With worry in her heart, she rushed to the heart of the battle without a single hint of hesitation. The Hyuga princess weaved through various shinobi all dazed and confused. A few saw her move towards the area of the final battle and followed her.

" _Naruto, just wait a little longer. We're all coming to help!_ "

"Ain't this nostalgic?" Kiba grinned from her side as he was accompanied by Akamaru. "Team 8 is back in action!"

"Kiba! Akamaru!" Hinata smiled brightly.

"You didn't forget about me, did you?"

Shino joined Hinata on her left side while adjusting the goggles he always wore.

"You're all safe." Hinata said with relief.

The duo nodded while Kiba pointed behind them. "And we're not alone either!"

Behind Team 8, the rest of the Konoha 11 weren't too far away from them.

Shikamaru, Choji, Ino, Lee, and Tenten were the literal head of the pack along with the five Kage. Behind their leaders, the remainder of the Allied Shinobi Forces followed not a hair's inch away. There was not a single shinobi who wasn't prepared to sacrifice themselves for the sake of repaying their debt to him.

The man who had stolen her heart, Naruto Uzumaki.

"Everyone's all together again." Hinata murmured in awe.

"Heh, we can't let Naruto hog all the glory forever!" Kiba smirked while Akamaru barked in agreement.

Just as Hinata made to reply, an earth-shattering and ear-deafening explosion rocked the earth from the area they were heading to. The gale force winds created launched a large amount of shinobi back while the stronger ones were able to stand their ground. Hinata covered her eyes with her arm while her hair flew back wildly. Through the gap in her arm, she looked forward only to confirm her biggest fears.

The chakra signatures belonging to Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke Uchiha were gone.

 **An Unknown Space**

Darkness. The encompassing black void wrapped around him like a cocoon. He couldn't see anything. He couldn't hear anything, and above all else he could not _feel_ anything. His limbs were no where to be seen while there was no way to look around without his neck.

Despite being lost in an unknown space, Naruto Uzumaki could only feel a great sense of accomplishment and pride.

Naruto and his teammate Sasuke Uchiha had beaten Kaguya and sealed her away forever along with Black Zetsu. It was a grueling battle, one that took hours with many close scrapes with death.

Kaguya, the progenitor of Chakra, was an enemy like no other. The goddess was able to open pathways to different dimensions, and almost succeeded in trapping Sasuke forever. If he was a honest, the duo would have lost if it weren't for the timely actions of Kakashi and Sakura.

Yet despite existing as a being of near endless power, Kaguya still had an even greater ability. The All Killing Ash Bones. A mere scratch was more than enough to completely destroy a person's body on a molecular level. Naruto knew what the ability was capable of firsthand. Obito Uchiha only smiled as his body fell to ash after he had saved both Naruto and Sasuke's lives.

Thanks to the former Konoha shinobi's sacrifice, the team was able to seal away Kaguya for good. After the Uzumaki and Uchiha sealed away Kaguya, the Juubi fell apart soon after. That was the last thing Naruto saw before there was a flash of light and then darkness.

Naruto felt nothing before his vision slowly returned as he blearily blinked his eyes. "Where am I?" Naruto wondered looking around. "Am I dead? the blonde shinobi asked himself.

"Not completely." an elderly voice replied.

Naruto turned around to see the legendary creator of Ninshuu, the Rikudo Sennin Hagoromo Otsutski. The old sage wore a white robe with 9 black magatama surrounding his color and back. He sat on 9 Truth seeking balls and held a staff across his lap.

Hagoromo wore a small smile upon his weary visage as he watched the blonde youth. The jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi took the opportunity to observe his surroundings and was surprised that they were now standing on water, or in the sage's case _floating_ above water.

Oddly enough, the scenery reminded him of when he had first met Son Goku after the gorilla ate him. Of course he was able to make the gorilla vomit him out, but that was a new experience in itself. Ah, good times.

A reminiscent smile appeared on his face as he recollected all the horrible and disgusting events he had been subjected to in his lifetime. " _My life really has not been great. But still..._ "

He wouldn't have traded those experiences for anything else in the world. His first mission C to A rank mission where he ran into Haku and Zabuza, his rivalry with Sasuke, his training with Jiraiya, his meeting with Nagato and the Akatsuki, they were all precious experiences that he wouldn't trade for anything.

"You have beaten the Juubi, sealed away my mother, and have saved the world. You are truly worthy of the title, Child of Prophecy." Hagoromo spoke in a grandfatherly manner.

Disrupted from his inner musings to hear the sage's congratulations, Naruto couldn't prevent the smile that made its way across his face. "It was nothing I couldn't handle!". The shinobi gave the sage a thumbs-up as well as his signature grin.

The sage's disposition fell at that statement and he sighed knowing what he had to do next.

"Naruto during your last battle... the explosion of chakra killed you and Sasuke." Hagoromo solemnly said.

Like he had anticipated, Naruto's expression turned ghastly white while shock had yet to fully hit him.

For the blond jinchuriki, it was like the old sage had cast a spell. Just as he had regained his senses, it was as if they were mercilessly ripped away once more.

The sage waited for the information to sink in while Naruto's heart sunk upon hearing his words. The blonde shinobi's face contained a mix of emotions anger, sadness, but a strange sense of calm. Strangely, he couldn't find it in himself to scream in anger or curse the world. All he felt was acceptance as if subconsciously he knew that he couldn't change his situation this time no matter what. Naruto's entire posture seemed to drop as a mirthless smile replaced his previous grinning one.

"So that's it huh? I'm really dead? What happened after the battle?" Naruto weakly asked.

"After you survived the battle, your former teacher and fellow pupil both survived the blast. The people who were imprisoned by the Mugen Tsukuyomi have all been freed. You saved them, Naruto." Naruto's mood slightly improved upon hearing the good news, but remained in despondent silence.

"And... what about Sasuke?"

The silence between Hagoromo and Naruto was palpable. It existed as an invisible fog between the ancestor and descendant. The first son of Kaguya cleared his throat before finally answering.

"Sasuke Uchiha has chosen to move forward."

Naruto's blue eyes slowly widened in disbelief. "Sasuke... gave up?"

Hagoromo nodded before speaking once more. "He was the last of his clan and he informed me that he no longer possessed any ties to the Elemental Nations with you dead as well."

Naruto punched the watery surface which was surprisingly more solid than it looked. An mirthless smile spread across his lips as he stared into his own reflection. He looked completely worn. His clothes that Jiraiya bought him were in tatters. His jacket was practically torn in half, his pants barely held on, and a mesh undershirt was his last line of defense.

"That bastard's always going ahead and doing what he wants. Sakura's probably going to be pissed." he chuckled with an air of melancholy.

"There's a reason why you're still here." the sage continued. The elder's voice held a tone of hope to it as Naruto's gaze looked upwards to meet his own. "I wanted to offer you another chance at life in a new world considering your current one was spent fixing the mistakes of an old fool."

Naruto was surprised by the offer. "A new... life?" he tentatively asked.

The Sage nodded and tapped the bottom of his staff on the water's surface. The ripples created altered the endless bottom into a live image of a vast land. Towns, mountains, forests, numerous objects were shown. It was as if Hagoromo had used Gaara's Sand Eye Jutsu to peer into an entirely different world.

"This place is known as Earthland. It is a world similar to our own except with a difference. Chakra does not exist but standing in its place is Magic."

"Magic like those parlor tricks in the Elemental Nations?"

"No, not like that kind of magic." Hagoromo amusedly chortled. "The magic the people of this world use allows them to accomplish feats similar to Ninjutsu. Manipulating the elements, creating Runes, or even transformations. The possibilities are endless over there as they are here."

Naruto was left in silent awe. Not only was he being granted a once in a lifetime opportunity, but a chance to actually live his life. But...

"Old man, I... I don't know if I should go. It's just—"

"What are you waiting for?"

Naruto's eyes widened upon hearing a new voice while Hagoromo chuckled knowingly.

"Don't worry about us." a distinctly familiar and female voice added.

"Those voices... no way..."

Naruto slowly turned around, hoping with all his might that he hadn't hallucinated those voices. Turning to look behind him, Naruto's hopeful azure eyes met two different pairs that he had only gotten to see on very rare occasions.

"Mom... Dad..."

Appearing in a blue, long-sleeved shirt and a pair of black pants, Minato Namikaze looked the same as ever with his trademark blue eyes and yellow hair. Standing by his side, his wife Kushina Uzumaki wore the same green dress that Naruto first met her in as the bright smile adorning her features could put the stars to shame in terms of radiance.

Standing both proud and elated, the two forms of Minato and Kushina approached and embraced their precious son. For the first time in 17 years, the Uzumaki family was reunited.

Naruto could feel them. Their scent, their warmth, it was everything that he had dreamed of growing up alone.

"Happy birthday, Naruto." his parents congratulated through tearful eyes.

"The hell, you're gonna make me cry too." Naruto sniffed. His arms pulled his parents even closer not wanting to let go for even a moment. "I made sure to eat a lot every day. I made sure to bathe every day like you asked."

Warm tears began to sting the corners of his eyes while he struggled to keep his voice together.

"I-I slept a lot too and I made friends. I had a little trouble but..."

"Shhh... it's okay, Naruto. We're both proud of you." Kushina hushed gently stroking Naruto's hair. Her vision was being blurred by the tears that were already falling, but she didn't care.

"You truly are a kind child." Minato softly smiled. "It's okay to be selfish, Naruto. You've spent too many years of your life worrying about the well being of others, so it's time you worry about your own."

"But you guys—"

"We'll be waiting for you with open arms only after you've lived the life you deserve." Kushina gently spoke soothing her son.

The Fourth Hokage and his wife released their son who wiped away his tears with the sleeve of his jacket. Hints of redness could be seen towards the edges of his eyes but the smile he sported was as bright as his mother's.

"I'm not ready to move on, old man Hagoromo." Naruto said sniffing one last time. "I want another chance and this time I'll make sure to live each day the way I want to."

Hagoromo smiled and nodded approvingly.

The whiskered shinobi turned to meet his parents' eyes once more as both father and mother held onto one of his hands.

"Guys?"

Before he could ask what they were doing, a scroll appeared out of thin air before it was grabbed by Minato. The former Hokage of the Leaf created a seal on his son's wrist as the scroll he was holding disappeared with its creation. The black lettering of the seal disappeared without a trace leaving Naruto utterly confused as to what just transpired.

"Those were the Fuinjutsu I was able to master in my lifetime. Hopefully you'll be able to learn from them before creating sealing jutsu of your own." Minato chuckled with slight grin.

From his mother's hands, Naruto watched as chains of gold with a white glow emerged from Kushina's palms before entering his own. While he half-expected it to be a painful process, the chains entered without a hitch before he watched the final link disappear into his body.

"The Uzumaki were known for three things." Kushina began with a mischievous grin. "The first was their red hair, the second was their longevity, and the third was their Fuinjutsu. There aren't many people who know about the fourth trait, the Adamantium Sealing Chains. Unfortunately I can't pass down my hair color to you, but the least I can do is pass on our clan's renowned jutsu."

Naruto was left stunned. He felt a great deal of gratitude, but he also felt undeserving.

"Is this really okay…?" he quietly mumbled. "At this rate I'll be a spoiled brat."

"And you'll always be our spoiled brat." Kushina giggled placing her hand on his cheek. "Listen to your father, Naruto. You need to be a little more selfish with your choices."

Naruto wiped his eyes and turned to the last occupant of the room who had been quiet in respect until now.

"If that's all, I think I'm ready, old man."

An amused chuckle escaped the elderly sage as he raised a single hand indicating he wasn't done. "I apologize for the delay Naruto, but there is one more who would like to speak with you."

" _One more?_ " Naruto mentally repeated. "Who else is there?"

As his way of answering, Hagoromo tapped his staff onto the watery surface as one massive being materialized out of a golden light. His predatory eyes glowed with the deepest crimson red imaginable while nine flowing tails swished in the air behind him. Although the being had the form of a kitsune, he had the upper body shape of a human complete with five dangerously clawed fingers on each hand.

Although the last time the Uzumaki saw the creature wasn't too long ago, the first son of the Sage, Kurama, had managed to double his size as he completely towered over his former jailor.

"K-Kurama?!"

Seeing as it was finally his turn, the strongest of the nine biju gave a vulpine smirk towards his partner.

" **Y'know, I'm a little offended that you didn't ask if I was okay, kit.** "

"I shouldn't have to worry because don't you reincarnate even if you die?"

" **Details, details.** " the fox carelessly shrugged.

Naruto lightly chuckled to himself. It was quite nostalgic being able to talk with Kurama again. Back then, the large fox was completely hell bent on taking over his body. If someone had told his younger self three years ago that he would befriend the giant fox, he would've laughed in their face before giving them the bird. He couldn't help but smile remembering his journey through life with the chakra incarnate by his side. Their tales and adventures would make quite the story if it was written.

"Hey Kurama..." he quietly greeted. "I guess this is goodbye, huh?"

The Kyuubi blinked doing a double take. " **I'm coming with you, you know that right?** "

This time it was Naruto's turn to blink. "What?"

The Bijuu simply smirked displaying each razor sharp canine in his mouth.

" **After all, someone has to keep you out of trouble. Also, you're still nothing without my power.** "

"Ohh no, do NOT bring the same "You're useless without my power" speech from three years ago back up, Furball." Naruto argued as he stomped to confront his partner.

" **Don't be mad knowing that it's true.** " Kurama boasted daring Naruto to argue back.

Naruto and Kurama both growled at one another as Naruto's forehead pressed against Kurama's snout with the intent of beating the other up. Their spat was interrupted by the sound of Kushina's sweet-sounding laughter as well as Minato's concealed chuckles.

The pair looked towards one another before redirecting their gaze back to the pair of laughing parents.

"What's so funny/ **What's so funny?!** " they said in unison.

"It's just that you two make an adorable team." Kushina proudly grinned. "Please take care of my son, Kurama. I know he can be quite the troublemaker."

"Hey!"

Kurama chuckled knowingly while ignoring Naruto's indignant cries of denial. "I'll make sure to."

The nine-tailed chakra beast turned his gaze towards Minato with an expectant stare. "Is there anything that you'd like to add?"

The Fourth Hokage simply shook his head with a small smile. "Be safe you two. The both of you."

With their goodbyes finished, Hagoromo had already finished the necessary preparations as a large Seal formula appeared beneath Naruto and Kurama while Minato and Kushina took a few steps back.

"Good luck, Naruto. May you find happiness in your new life." the sage spoke with reverent pride.

As the light from the seal gradually enveloped him, Naruto looked to his parents one last time to see his father's arm wrapped over his mother's shoulder as they each waved from where they stood.

A large ringing sound filled the air to the point that Naruto could no longer hear anything. Although he couldn't use his ears, Naruto's eyes were still able to make out his parents' final words to him.

" _Thank you for allowing us to be your parents, Naruto._ "

In a flash of light Naruto and Kurama were gone. As soon as they disappeared, Minato and Kushina nodded to one another before waving Hagoromo goodbye as they left soon after.

Hagoromo wearily sighed to himself after having to witness a rather heavy-hearted reunion. Nevertheless, he spoke out to the empty void around him.

"As you can see, he's made his decision. Now the question is, what do you intend to do knowing the choice he has made?"

The only response Hagoromo received was silence. Heh. Coming from him, it was a rather common answer.

 **In a forest somewhere in Fiore**

Naruto woke up under a tree in a verdant forest just as a droplet of rain fell onto his nose. His blue eyes blearily opened themselves to reveal the wilderness that encompassed him. The weather was quite chilly while the rain didn't help in terms of warmth. He assumed that night had already fell but it was hard to tell with the vast sea of storm clouds that hid the sky and rained upon the earth.

The shinobi looked down at his clothing and was surprised to see a black cloak with a red outline on the connecting center and edges of the garment. It was highly reminiscent to the formal Akatsuki's uniform minus the red clouds. Underneath the cloak was a new red jacket like the one he had received from Jiraiya on his training trip. His pants and signature sandals remained the same from the ones he previously owned with the only difference being that they were new. Tentatively touching his forehead, Naruto found that he had still kept his former Leaf headband.

So many thoughts flooded his head at the same time. What would he do now? Just what kind of things awaited him in this new world? Deciding to gather his bearings first, Naruto sat up and leaned his back against a tree.

The first thing he needed to do was check his chakra reserves. Closing his eyes in concentration, he felt himself connect to the boundless ocean of chakra that belonged to Kurama and himself.

It looked like the fox hadn't fully recovered from the war since his snores were heard loud and clear. Then again, he had no idea what kind of toll inter-dimensional travel would have on the beast, so he wisely decided let him rest.

Ignoring the Kyuubi's steadily recovering chakra, he finally found his own pitiably low reserves. It looked like he had't fully recovered either after going toe to toe with the goddess of his old world.

Sighing to himself, it looked like he wouldn't be using chakra anytime soon.

"I wonder where he sent me anyway?" Naruto wondered to himself as he sat up. The heavy splats of rain hitting the ground filled the entire forest with nature's peaceful melancholy.

His moment of relaxation was cut short by a loud bestial roar that shook the forest in its entirety. Wildlife scattered as they ran away from the source of the roar while an expression of wariness appeared on Naruto's face. Whatever that was, it definitely didn't sound friendly.

Without a single moment of hesitation, the shinobi was up on his feet and bolted full speed towards the unknown.

Little did he know that his presence would drastically change this new world. For better or worse, Naruto Uzumaki was going to shake the very foundations of Earthland's core.

The hero of the Fourth Great Shinobi war leaped from tree to tree much like his previous life in Konoha. If there were any humans nearby, they would only see a barely visible blur of blonde hair flying past them in an instant. Following the source of the tremors while keeping an eye for toppled trees, Naruto found the source.

As Naruto arrived to the scene, he saw a giant beast looming over a young girl white-haired girl who looked around his age.

He watched as the girl remained stock still, refusing to move out of the monster's warpath. With one arm, she cradled her other which in all likelihood seemed broken. From the distance, Naruto was able to make out two dulled blue eyes that looked all too familiar. They were the eyes of someone who had just lost the will to live.

Mirajane Strauss was a teenager with white-hair tied in a pony tail with a purple bow and radiant blue-eyes. She donned a dark, skimpy sleeveless shirt adorned with some light curved motifs on the chest, a short skirt held up by a studded belt with a demonic-looking buckle and thigh-high boots with stiletto heels, each bearing a skull adorned by a flower on their upper front.

Her appearance didn't really matter at the moment.

For the first time in the entirety of her life, Mirajane Strauss, S-Class mage of Fairy Tail, felt numb. The pain that she felt from having the bones in arm broken no longer seemed to matter. The scrapes that decorated her legs didn't sting. She could no longer feel the freezing rain that beat down on her or hear the earth-shattering stomps of the Beast in front of her as it drew closer and closer.

She wondered to herself just how the mission went so wrong. Her brother's body had been taken over by the beast after he had tried to Take-over the King of Beasts. Elfman had been feeling jealous that he couldn't pull off a full-body takeover like his sisters and had resorted to trying to subjugate a monster out of his league. By the time she had realized what had occurred, it was too late. With its revitalized body, the beast broke her arm tearing apart the muscles in it like wet tissue paper.

Like the appearance that she prided herself on, her broken arm didn't matter.

Lisanna Strauss was a short, petite girl and wore a short, dark red dress with a white collar and bow. Up on her arms above her elbows, she wore gold rings with a pale pink fabric flowing down from them. She was bright young girl, a wizard of Fairy Tail, and above all else, she was Mirajane's dear sister.

The youngest Strauss sibling had returned to report her status. She had evacuated the townspeople only to find her sister injured and her brother no where to found. She had run to her sister's side and asked where their beloved brother was only to learn the harsh truth. Elfman's envy had led him to a use full body takeover resulting in the total loss of his sanity.

Although this would normally cause panic for most, Lisanna had turned around and calmly approached the beast. Seeing the small morsel stand in front of it, the beast had regarded the young girl in front of it with a dangerous silence.

" _LISANNA GET AWAY FROM THERE!_ "

The words Mirajane had cried reverberated within the confines of her mind, constantly playing on an endless loop. The eldest sibling had tried with all her might to muster the strength to stand, but only succeeded in falling once more.

She was forced to watch as Lisanna was mercilessly battered away like a fly.

She was forced to watch as her gentle frame brutally bounced across the rocky earth before skidding to a stop.

Even though she moved her broken body to her sister's side by sheer will, she could only watch as her sister disappeared into nothing within her arms. She no longer possessed the will to move as the loss of her sister crushed her soul beneath its weight.

Even as the beast that was her brother loomed over her with its hand raised in a similar fashion, she couldn't care less about her life.

She waited for the final blow to come. The blow that would in all likelihood shatter the remaining bones in her body before putting her through an even worse death than her sister.

That blow would never come.

"GET DOWN!"

Out of no where, a blonde teenager who looked to be around her age appeared right in front of Elfman before tackling her to the ground. The Beast's hand barely missed the two of them as the resulting force blew apart a set of trees a couple meters away.

She felt the stranger pick her up and carry her away after throwing her body over his shoulders while carefully making sure not to aggravate her broken arm.

With her current mental state, she never registered just how quickly the man managed to carry her safely to the tree line.

He set Mirajane down carefully against the trunk of a tree.

"Hey, are you okay? Stay with me! Where does it hurt?"

His voice was deep and comforting, but she didn't even bother to meet his gaze. Her dull, broken eyes remained transfixed on the wet earth.

"Why did you save me..." she quietly murmured.

"I'm gonna get you to a doctor. Just hold on!" Naruto said unable to hear her murmurs.

As Naruto made to inspect her hand, he was left shocked as Mirajane slapped away his hand with her good arm while fixing one of the most soul-crushed glares on his person.

"WHY DIDN'T YOU JUST LET ME DIE?!"

Naruto was left momentarily taken aback by the estranged white-haired girl's outburst before he returned the glare with full force. "Because I don't intend to let a defenseless girl with a broken arm get killed because of her own inability to move. This is usually the part where people say thank you."

"Thank you...?" Mirajane coldly repeated. "THANK YOU FOR WHAT?! THANK YOU FOR SAVING ME FROM MY BROTHER WHO'S LOST HIS MIND?! OR MAYBE I SHOULD THANK YOU FOR NOT BEING ABLE TO SAVE MY SISTER BEFORE HE KILLED HER!"

It was unfair. Deep down she knew it was unfair to accuse someone she had never met of being unable to save Lisanna, but she didn't care at the moment. She had just lost one of the brightest lights in her life that kept her alive.

Naruto's eyes widened finally putting the pieces together. The reason her eyes were like that. His two cerulean orbs narrowed and returned towards the Beast that was currently looking for them uprooting trees and destroying boulders in the process.

Making sure Mirajane wasn't in a position to hurt herself, he exited their hiding spot with his face contorted into an expression of pure anger. Even now the beast hadn't managed to locate them.

Well, he was about to find out.

"OI, UGLY!"

The Beast's glowing purple eyes found their way onto Naruto. A deafening roar shook the earth as he stepped closer and closer to his newfound prey.

Despite having a stature nearly 20 times smaller, there was not a single trace of fear to be found in Naruto's eyes. No, there was only rage. The frigid rain relentlessly poured down on him soaking his hair as dozens of drops ran down his face, but he didn't even notice them.

"Aren't you supposed to be her brother?" he calmly questioned gesturing to Mirajane's visible body.

The Beast didn't deign to reply as he continued to walk forward with murderous intent radiating off of him in waves.

"So it looks like you won't ever remember what happened here. Fine then..."

Although he knew Kurama was recovering, Naruto only hoped the fox would forgive him for borrowing a bit of his chakra. Focusing the flow towards his arm, Naruto channeled the unpurified, raw chakra of the Kyuubi around his right arm. A red, bubbling cloak surrounded the limb from the forearm to his fist before the skin steadily began to peel away revealing a black and red coating beneath.

At the very moment Elfman threw a fist intending to crush the blond, Naruto vanished only to reappear over the Beast's head.

"I'll make sure to get a proper explanation from you after this is over."

Using all his might, Naruto punched the back of the Beast's head. The blow had so much force it nearly broke the sound barrier as it propelled the Beast's body straight into the ground burying him nearly 10 feet deep. A spider web of cracks emanated from the focal point spreading across the ground.

With a single blow, the Beast was completely put down as Naruto safely landed behind it. The monster's body glowed before slowly reverting back into a human with bright, white hair and tanned skin.

Releasing a breath of air, Naruto willed the chakra around his arm to recede leaving slightly burnt skin that had already begun to repair itself.

Walking over to the crater, Naruto grabbed one of Elfman's arms with his good hand before yanking his body out of the ground. The shinobi dragged the unconscious and shirtless teen with him back into the tree line where he found Mirajane who didn't even register his return.

The girl's knees were tucked against her chest as she pulled them close with her arms.

Naruto set Elfman against a different tree across from her before touching her shoulder to get her attention. As soon as he had touched her shoulder, he immediately pulled away.

She was cold. Frighteningly so.

Taking off his cloak, he wrapped it over Mirajane and sat beside her before pulling her close. She finally acknowledged his presence before weakly attempting to pull away to no avail.

"Let go of me..." she quietly murmured.

"You're wet and cold. The last thing you need is a fever that you won't be able to fight off with your current state of mind and I'd rather you not die of hypothermia either."

Despite expecting her to continue resisting, Naruto was left surprised when he felt the girl relax and stop moving.

The shinobi felt a distinct wetness on his chest that wasn't from the rain. It was warm.

Looking down, he saw a steady stream of tears flow down Mirajane's cheeks as she cradled herself within her own arms. "Lisanna... I couldn't save you... Lisanna I'm so sorry... "

Mirajane continued to sob into his chest while continuously calling out for Lisanna who Naruto assumed was her late sister. There was nothing else that he could offer her right now. The only thing he could offer was a place to grieve.

He would end up sitting there through the rest of the night as Mirajane cried herself to sleep.

 **The Next Morning**

This feeling was quite nostalgic. Naruto had not ridden on a train since his mission in the Land of Snow where he saved Koyuki, the film princess and political daimyo. Unfortunately, there wasn't a single chance that he would be able to enjoy it at the moment.

His eyes moved from the rolling landscape to the two sleeping siblings in front of him.

After the rain finally stopped, Naruto had recovered enough chakra to create clones that could carry the two sleeping siblings back to town. When a passerby saw him carrying the two back into town, he pointed out to the shinobi that they were both Fairy Tail guild mages renown as the Takeover Trio's Mirajane and Elfman Strauss.

Mages, from what Naruto could infer, were the replacement for shinobi in this world and Mirajane's team had accepted a job for their guild to eliminate the monster terrorizing the town.

Guilds, a congregation of mages that accepted various types of jobs for cash payment. The system was similar to that of the Hidden Villages but no where near as militarized. The whiskered jinchuriki was able to glean this bit of information from the same passerby after asking what guilds were before receiving a strange stare.

After finding the town's city hall, Naruto was able to convince the town's mayor that he was an ally of the Strauss siblings who was going to take them back to their "guild" for medical attention. Thankfully, the location and directions to Magnolia Town's Fairy Tail came up in the conversation and so the reward money was passed on to him.

He didn't intend to rob the two siblings of their money after what they had been through, but he knew he needed a bit of money if he were going to bring them aboard the train.

To be honest, he had no idea if either of them would even accept the reward money after what transpired the previous night.

These events then led to their current situation.

Naruto's thoughts were brought to a halt as Mirajane slowly began to stir. Heavy, black bags beneath her eyes showed just how weary she felt as her sapphire blue eyes finally opened. Her clothes were ragged exposing even more of her body than it did before.

Naruto could practically hear Jiraiya's tempting him to look down.

"Good morning." Naruto plainly stated as his gaze returned to the window for various reasons. Like those mountains. Yep those were a nice pair of mountains.

Mirajane slowly looked around to study her surroundings. "Where... where are we?" she confusedly murmured.

"We're on a train heading back to Magnolia Town. You two are part of a guild named Fairy Tail, right?"

At the aforementioned name of her guild, Mirajane's eyes snapped open as she looked around the cabin for her sister, desperately hoping that last night was a nightmare and nothing else.

"There's no one else here besides us three." Naruto softly spoke.

"So then... you really did save me last night." Mirajane said choking back a sob.

If he was here, then that meant Lisanna really was...

"I'm sorry." the shinobi gently murmured.

Mirajane's eyes slightly widened in confusion. What was he apologizing for? Her expression lit up as the accusations she made the night before popped into her mind. She lowered her head ashamed and humiliated.

"No, I'm sorry... I-I wasn't thinking straight and... I blamed you for my mistakes."

The ivory haired girl wiped the corners of her eyes with her thumb as she settled her gaze on the boy in front of her. He looked to be around her age while she observed his rather distinct traits. His vibrant eyes were cerulean blue and closely matched her own in terms of color. His striking blond hair was one of the brightest she had seen that could only be compared to the grandson of Makarov Dreyar.

Finally letting her curiosity get the better of her, Mirajane decided the anonymity had gone on long enough. "Who are you?" she warily asked.

Seeing that he was the one being addressed, Naruto ceased his sightseeing to focus on his inquisitor. "My name's Naruto. Naruto Uzumaki. I asked about you two around town while you guys were asleep. You're Mirajane, right?"

The girl in question silently nodded.

"Can you tell me what happened last night?"

At that very moment, Elfman began to stir as he groaned before opening his eyes. The big man was currently wearing a shirt donated by one of the townspeople to replace his destroyed one as a thank you for defeating the Beast."Big sis? What happened? Why are we back on the train?"

Naruto's eyes narrowed as his hard gaze stayed fixed on Elfman who had yet to notice him.

As Elfman looked around for one particular person, he finally asked the question about the one person Naruto wanted to learn about.

"Big sis? Where's Lisanna?"

Mirajane winced hearing her sister's name. Her hands balled themselves into tight fists as they rested on her lap. She lowered her gaze onto her hands as she tried to keep her voice together.

"Lisanna..." Mirajane swallowed hard. "Lisanna is dead, Elfman."

There was nothing but silence.

Elfman's expression said it all. Spread across his face was the reflection of utter disbelief and growing desperation.

"Hey, Sis that's not funny. Where's Lisanna? Come on, she's hiding around somewhere isn't she?"

"Elfman..." Mirajane began. She held onto her broken arm that had been wrapped in a makeshift sling. It most likely came from Naruto she surmised. The S-Class mage bit the corner of her lip, trying to say with all her might the words that wouldn't come. "You killed Lisanna. You lost control of the Full Body Takeover and you killed her."

Elfman's lips slowly quivered while the corners of his eyes watered. "No... you're lying... that can't be true!"

Not seeing Mirajane deny his claims, Elfman's heart sunk. His large shaky arms slowly rose to hold his head as the tears began to fall. "No... I couldn't have... All I wanted was become strong like you two... I didn't mean for this to happen..." he choked.

It didn't even last a second. Elfman suddenly found himself being hoisted up by the collar of his shirt as Naruto slammed his back against the cabin's walls.

"NARUTO, STOP!"

"Are you kidding me...?" the shinobi lowly muttered.

"W-Who are you?" Elfman asked with wide eyes finally noticing Naruto's presence.

"You endangered the lives of your sisters and killed one, BUT FOR WHAT?! SO YOU COULD GET STRONGER?! HOW SELFISH CAN YOU BE?!"

From despair to fury, Elfman's eyes changed as a burning rage flared brightly in his eyes. "Who the hell are you to mention my sisters?"

"NARUTO, PLEASE STOP!" Mirajane jumped out of her seat and tried to remove Naruto's arm from Elfman but it was to no avail. The shinobi's arm was NOT going to be moving any time soon. The eldest sister knew what he was going to say, but she couldn't stop him.

"Who am I?" Naruto repeated incredulously ignoring Mirajane's cries for him to stop. Pulling Elfman's shirt before slamming him back into the wall, Naruto's voice rose even louder than the two siblings combined. "I'M THE FUCKING GUY WHO STOPPED YOU FROM KILLING YOUR LAST SISTER! SHE WOULD'VE DIED IF I DIDN'T FIND HER WHEN I DID!"

As if a heavy storm appeared, the inferno in Elfman's eyes was doused in an instant leaving an expression of horror. Little by little, his gaze finally fell on his oldest sister who looked away.

"I... I almost killed you too?"

Mira gingerly nodded as her eyes started to tear up once more.

Naruto released his hold on Elfman causing him to fall to the ground. The large mage collapsed to his knees cradling his head within his hands. Slowly and progressively, the large man began to sob uncontrollably. His frame shook with grief while his cries of anguish filled the cabin. Mirajane could only watch remorsefully as the image her brother had tried to build fell to pieces.

Looking on, she watched as Naruto's face softened as he sat back down to watch the window. His face no longer reflecting anger, but self-deprecation.

 **Magnolia Town, Fairy Tail Guildhall**

Not a single word was spoken for the remainder of the trip. As they traversed the streets, the beat up bodies of Mirajane and Elfman drew the stares of many Magnolia residents. For those who knew them more closely, the silent question as to where their youngest sibling remained kept to themselves.

After being urged to regain his bearings at the soothing words of his sister, Elfman had finally managed to climb back to his feet, and with heavy heart, carry himself back to the guild.

Mirajane had done her best to compose herself, but whether she would be able to hold it while reporting the incident was a different story.

For all the terrible experiences that he had gone through, the loss of a sibling was something that Naruto could never understand. The closest thing he ever had to a brother was his bond with Sasuke, yet like the Uchiha said he had no idea what it was like to lose something that he never had.

The unjustified fate of Itachi Uchiha had driven Sasuke to the very brink of self-destruction as he killed hundreds on his quest for revenge.

The fact that Mirajane and Elfman could hold themselves together after losing their precious little sister was something that Naruto couldn't even imagine as he walked with them.

He inwardly chuckled wondering just how his supposed second chance at life could have possibly gotten off to a rockier start. Shaking his mind away from those thoughts, Naruto instead chose to focus on studying the architecture of Magnolia. From the quaint bakeries and shops to the grand Cathedral, everything seemed to be closely located next to each other.

Looking around, he could see that there were a variety of different citizens ranging from a young couple, to a small family, a group of kids, or even an elderly couple. There was one thing they all had in common despite their numerous differences. They were all happy. The realization that this town was truly a home for them dawned on Naruto.

They had begun walking towards the Fairy Tail guild hall and Naruto quietly enjoyed the sights and sounds of this new world by himself. The streets of Magnolia were made of cobblestone while a built in canal was in the middle of the street. Lanterns could be seen every couple meters while Naruto could only marvel at the sheer complexity of their homes compared to the ones back in the Elemental Nations. As the guild hall came into view, Naruto noted that it was somewhat simple. The building was a two story wooden building with a pagoda roof and had a sign above the door that said 'Fairy Tail'. The name was pretty clever in Naruto's opinion. The Strauss siblings moved ahead of Naruto and opened the door.

Naruto had been expecting many things, but total pandemonium was not one of them. The entire guild hall was engaged in an all out brawl that destroyed nearby tables and chairs and knocked out mages left and right. The inside of the guild was just as quaint as the outside minus said war zone. The floors of the guild were made of long wood boards which was currently covered in splinters and debris from shattered furniture and tableware.

As soon as they entered, it was as if a switch had been turned and the entire fight had came to a close. Every Fairy Tail mage looked to the door at the new arrivals and suddenly stopped all raucous activity. They noticed the condition of the two elder siblings and immediately moved towards the group with looks of concern and worry.

"What the heck happened on your mission? Are you guys okay?"

"Where's Lisanna?"

"I'll kick your ass if you're the one who did this new guy!"

The group was bombarded with questions until a powerful voice decided to make itself known.

"ENOUGH!" Makarov Dreyar, Third Master of Fairy Tail stepped forward with worry in his eyes after seeing his children's condition. He moved towards the Strauss siblings as the crowd parted to let the master through. The elderly man carried a wooden staff with him that rhythmically tapped the ground with each step he took.

Elfman was covered in bandages while Mirajane had a broken arm. Needless to say, the old man was significantly worried for his children's condition and could only speculate on what happened during their job. Makarov was a short man who had a nearly bald head, but retained hair surrounding the edges of his skull.

He wore a simple white t-shirt that was covered by an orange hoodie that surprisingly fit his small stature and a matching pair of orange pants. "Are you two okay?" he worriedly asked. "Where is Lisanna?"

"Yeah we're fine Master, but can we talk about this somewhere else?" Mirajane forcefully requested. The ivory-haired teen didn't like all the looks of worry she and Elfman were receiving and desired to talk about this in a more private setting. There was a lot to discuss, more so concerning Lisanna's whereabouts.

"Of course we can go to my office." the old man immediately replied ushering the other members away to create a path.

As the trio followed the master to a nearby office door, all eyes returned to the blonde who had arrived with the two siblings. They stared and then blinked. Naruto stared back. A few seconds passed before Naruto decided it would probably be best to rejoin his newest acquaintances considering the fact that nearly everyone was currently staring at him with a "Who the hell are you?" expression.

 **Master's Office**

The three mages and shinobi made themselves comfortable in the confines of Makarov's office. Elfman decided to sit down, while Mirajane and Naruto opted to stand. The latter which was curiously looking around at the various decorations of the room. Makarov's attention was brought towards the newcomer as he turned to look at the unfamiliar figure in the room. The boy held a curious gleam in his eyes as he observed the various common magical items Makarov's office contained. His spiky head of blonde hair seemed like a brighter shade compared to his grandson yet his attitude was the polar opposite. Noticing the master's gaze on him, Naruto gave him a polite wave.

Makarov chuckled at that. "Now who are you, young man? I saw you enter with my children, but we haven't been formally introduced. My name is Makarov Dreyar." he said as he held his hand out for a handshake.

The blonde shinobi was temporarily taken back by guild master's sudden introduction before he met the master's grip with one of his own. Since he had made a respectful introduction, it was only fair he returned the courtesy."Naruto Uzumaki, at your service." Naruto respectfully replied giving a cheesy one handed salute.

Makarov chuckled while Mirajane slightly smiled at the blonde's presentation. Makarov's head turned to the takeover duo as he decided to quickly address the matter at hand. Two of them looked heavily injured while the third was missing. "Now what on earth happened on that mission?" the guild master asked with an expression of deep worry. "I know this was an S-Class job, but it shouldn't have posed much difficulty for someone like you, Mira. Where is Lisanna?"

The pair shifted underneath the master's gaze, neither one wanting to report what happened. Eventually Mirajane decided as the eldest sibling it was her responsibility to tell the details of what had happened on their mission. She took a deep breath and composed herself.

Steeling her resolve, she forced herself to continue on. "When we encountered the beast, I sent Lisanna back to warn the village about the monster. It was a bit tough, but me and Elfman managed to defeat it. It took about half my magic to defeat it, and I should have been paying more attention but I was too late. As we were heading back, Elfman tried to take-over the beast." she spoke.

Elfman lowered his head down in shame as he clenched his teeth in regret and self-loathing. He knew it wasn't intentional. He knew that she was only stating the truth, but the truth hurt. The truth was that he killed his little sister all for the sake of his foolish pride. He had no right to call himself a man. If anything he was nothing but a jealous child considering his beyond stupid reasoning for acting as he did.

"At first he seemed to have retained control, but the beast's will overpowered him. He caught me off-guard and broke my arm and by the time I had run out of magic Lisanna returned." Mirajane continued. The eldest Strauss had a frown marring her features as she bit her lip. The memories of what had happened were still fresh on her mind, and she didn't wish to think about it unless she wanted to have a breakdown in front of everyone. Mirajane's arm cradled her broken one as its grip tightened.

"She tried to reason with Elfman, but she..." she paused to take a breath. "She ended up getting fatally wounded." Mirajane managed to finish.

Mirajane could no longer retain her composure as she collapsed to her knees. Her quiet sobs caused her body to wrack itself in grief as Makarov was left stunned. Elfman grit his teeth and clenched his eyes shut as a few tears escaped.

Makarov seemed to age considerably as his facial features contorted into one of solemn heartache.

The Giant of Fairy Tail's fist clenched themselves so tightly that his desk began to crack beneath the weight of his power. The loss of a building or two was irrelevant, but the loss of a child was something that Makarov would normally never allow to happen. A parent should never have to outlive his own children. As much as the elderly wizard wanted to immediately leave the room and destroy the nearest forest, he still needed to have one thing answered.

"I found Mirajane and Elfman by luck." Naruto suddenly said earning Makarov's attention. "I managed to save Mirajane before Elfman could hurt her too and I knocked him out."

The tight vice grip Makarov's hand was locked in slowly loosened as Makarov wearily sighed.

"I see... then I thank you from the bottom of my heart, Naruto."

Makarov's expression spoke volumes of his feelings as Naruto was stunned by the sheer gratitude he could feel from the elderly man. His onyx eyes held the most respect he hadn't seen in ages directed solely at him. "You have my thanks for protecting my children. One of them may be lost but we will forever honor her memory. For saving her two siblings, you have my eternal gratitude."

How nostalgic. It had been a long time since he had heard words like those, but he didn't deserve it. Naruto smiled apologetically in response to Makarov's thanks," As I already told Mirajane, I'm sorry that I couldn't have made it there quicker." Naruto said with the same sincerity.

Mirajane who was physically being supported by her brother bit her lip in guilt once more as she looked downwards. The duo moved to the door to leave. Their parts were done, and there was no longer a reason to stay. As Elfman helped Mira regain her balance, he opened the door the follow her out. The door closed behind them with an audible click.

Naruto was left alone in the room with the master whose eyebrow rose slightly.

"If I'm being honest. I'm a bit lost on what to do right now." Naruto spoke as he scratched the back of his head. "I'm not really from around here and don't really know where to go."

Makarov was surprised by the new information that had come to light. Seeing as how he was practically indebted to the blond, Makarov decided he would help him to the best of his abilities. A sudden thought crossed his mind and with it came an opportunity. The man in front of him seemed rather strong for his age. Headstrong, straightforward, and direct, yet his compassion was one of the purest he had encountered in years. "If you don't mind me asking, how old are you young man?"

"Hm? I just turned 17 recently. Why do you ask?"

"Powerful, yet so young." Makarov murmured to himself remembering that the new kid was able to completely knock out an S-Class Beast. "If you like, you're welcome to join my guild, Fairy Tail."

"Fairy Tail?" Naruto curiously repeated. "That's the name of this guild isn't it? Why's this guild named Fairy Tail?"

A small smile that seemed to grow with each passing second appeared on Makarov's face as he heard the shinobi's question. The third guild master still remembered the day he had asked the same thing to his predecessor, Precht Gaebolg. Speaking in a voice that could only be matched by priest of Zentopia, Makarov began to recount the significance behind his prized guild's name. "Do fairies really have tails? Do they even exist... Like them, this place as an eternal mystery... A never ending adventure."

These were the words passed down by the first master which were then passed to him. He had engraved them onto his heart to remember for the rest of his life during his youth.

"Fairy Tail is a family for those that desire one. Everyone here has a past that haunts them, but here they will never be alone. There will be times when we've lost all hope and no longer have the strength to stand..." Makarov paused offering a kind, grandfatherly smile to Mirajane and Elfman through the window. "But together, we will continue to move forward. We will continue to push through the hard times and face everything the world throws at us with a smile!"

" _Eternal adventure, huh?_ "

Naruto couldn't help but feel awe-inspired by the wizened man's words. A guild created to be a family that would move forward together supporting each other. Although the circumstances were different, Naruto had wished for nothing else, but a family as a child. Maybe he could find his purpose here. _"_ I guess you've got a new recruit right here then." Naruto slightly smiled.

"Welcome to Fairy Tail." Makarov congratulated. The man's expression fell once more as he clasped his hands together behind his back. He moved from behind his desk to stand by one of the windows in his office as he looked over his children. "If it's alright, I'd like to postpone your official induction and briefing. I'd like to inform the rest of the guild of our loss and schedule a funeral."

Naruto's grin fell as a sad smile took its place. "Of course." His eyes moved to the window where he saw the two Strauss siblings get swarmed once more. The rest of the guild would learn the truth soon it would seem.

Makarov bowed his head in thanks before moving to open one of his desk's drawers. The old man withdrew a strange wooden object before presenting it to Naruto.

"Where would you like your stamp, Naruto?" the guild master asked.

"Stamp?" the shinobi eloquently replied.

"Although now isn't the time to introduce you, I'd still like to give you your stamp. This stamp will identify you as a member of Fairy Tail. You can choose the color and where you want to put it." Makarov explained. "It's essentially a painless tattoo."

Naruto's eyes lit up in understanding as he nodded before undoing his black cloak. He rolled up the sleeve of his red jacket revealing his arm. "I'd like to have it on my right arm in black if that's alright."

The old man placed the stamp between his shoulder and elbow and lifted it up.

Naruto tilted his arm to get a good view of his new marking before he nodded in satisfaction. "It looks great. Thank you."

Makarov chuckled and nodded. He got up from his seat and made his way to the door before opening it. He looked behind him offering an apologetic smile.

"I'm sorry that we couldn't have had you join under better circumstances."

"Trust me, it's really no big deal. If you need any manpower for the service, I'll help you out to the best of my abilities." Naruto smiled learning against the nearby wall.

"Thank you. I am truly grateful."

Makarov left Naruto to address the rest of the guild leaving the jinchuriki to stir in his own thoughts.

Downstairs, Naruto could already hear the cries of disbelief and the sobbing of others. None of these people were related by blood excluding the Strauss siblings, yet their reactions were that of actual family members.

" **I fall asleep for about a day and your emotions are already in turmoil. If this place is causing you trouble, then just leave."** Kurama plainly suggested.

 _"It's the opposite, Kurama. Fairy Tail, they really care about one another like a family … I think I'll like it here._ " Naruto inwardly replied with a chuckle.


	2. Moving Forward

**CH2: Moving Forward**

Person/Human talking

 _Person/Human thinking_

 **Demon talking**

 _ **Demon thinking**_

 **Technique name**

 **I honestly feel that I should say this since I think it will clear up a lot of things. When I first started this story, it was meant to be more of a joke story but somewhere along the line when I decided to make it more serious it ended up with two contrasting writing styles. The first half was always more of a joke while the second was more serious. With that said, I hope this further explains my reasoning for doing this rewrite.**

 **To my old readers, rest assured Tobi will still be a thing and will remain just as awesome.**

 **SwiftEagle, Guest, and anybody else who noticed the slip up in the office scene: In my defense I was tired as hell so I apologize for that.**

 **Same Guest as the one above: If you want to point out plot holes, check out the updated reasoning on my profile where I point out the most common ones that appeared in the older version.**

 **To the readers who still respected my decision to remove the Sharingan even though you would rather have Naruto keep it, thank you for keeping an open mind about this. Not everyone is exactly mature enough to accept the decision and for that I'm grateful. Also thank you to the readers who remembered that Naruto is still a literal god with the power he already has...**

 **Fairy Tail Guildhall**

The Fairy Tail mages were quieter than church mice in the wake of the Strauss sibling's somber return.

It had started like any other ordinary day. They drank, they laughed, they fought, it was the home they all came to know and love as Fairy Tail.

Until Mirajane and Elfman both returned short of one member. One of their strongest S-Class mage's arms were broken while her brother looked like he had seen much better days.

The current state of their returning members had entirely overshadowed the arrival of the newcomer following behind them.

No one had ever seen Mirajane look the way she did. Her harsh, inspiring confidence was nowhere in sight while her tomboyish personality had all but crumbled to pieces.

Elfman no longer carried himself with the same pride or confidence. If anything, it appeared as if he had reverted back into his more timid and fragile personality from when he was a child.

And then there was the absence of their third team member. Their adored sister and friend to everyone, Lisanna Strauss was nowhere in sight.

Many of the wizards assured one another that she probably went straight home or that she may have missed the train back to Magnolia.

Only a single person knew what the likely reason was.

A loud thump sounded out across the quiet hall. The attention of the wizards were drawn to a single table that had been split in half. The two pieces fell to opposite sides while splinters decorated the floor.

The cause?

The young Queen of Fairies Erza sported a dark expression of silent rage. The audible squeaking of her metal gauntlets from being clenched so tightly could be heard by everyone as she got up from her seat and headed to the door.

To others she may have appeared angry, but that anger was directed elsewhere. She had seen the same look on Mirajane's face countless times before. After all, it was the same look she had every day when she first came to the guild. It was a mask to cover her pain.

"E-Erza?"

Natsu hesitantly called out the name of the person he both feared and respected but it was to no avail.

No one stopped her as she stormed out of the guildhall just as no one noticed the lone stream of tears that fell from her left eye.

Natsu glanced towards Gray, another boy who looked to be the same age with raven hair. Gray's current attire consisted of... well... nothing really. The youth was only wearing a pair of boxers at the moment.

"Gray, what's wrong with Erza?"

Gray's eyes lingered on the door for a short while longer as he sighed in response. "I don't know Natsu... There's something she's not telling us."

"Natsu..."

The dragon slayer of fire looked downwards on his lap where his best friend Happy wore an expression of worry. The feline's constant grins and cheerful demeanors were practically his trademark, but they just weren't there today.

Natsu smiled and rubbed Happy's head the way Lisanna taught him to when the Exceed felt depressed. "What's up, buddy?"

"Where's Lisanna? She didn't come back with the others."

Natsu's reassuring smile cracked. She was fine, and he was most likely overthinking things.

"She's probably at home waiting for us to get there." he answered with a grin.

His thousand-watt smile was practically contagious as it managed to significantly raise Happy's spirit.

"Aye!"

At that moment the door to the master's office opened. Everyone's gazes immediately shifted towards the room's exit where the Strauss siblings both walked out before descending down the stairwell to the main floor.

If it were even possible, Mirajane appeared in an even worse state than before. Her eyes were bloodshot from what looked to be hours of crying while her expression was absolutely disconsolate.

Oblivious to her current state, Natsu decided to speak to her despite the others silently urging him not to. Gray had noticed as well and reached a hand out to Natsu but he was too late.

"Hey Mira, how'd the job go? Did Lisanna just go home?"

"We all promised to go fishing together!" Happy chirped.

Elfman stepped forward and placed a large hand on Natsu's shoulder confusing the dragon slayer.

"Elfman?"

Natsu was the last person the guilt-ridden giant wanted to speak to at the moment as a large lump formed in his throat.

"Natsu I'm sorry... Lisanna is... She's—"

"Lisanna's dead, Natsu."

Whatever chatter and whispers remained died with those three words alone. The youngest generation of wizards stared at Mirajane's collected, unmoving visage that had answered Natsu.

The snow-haired girl's sapphire eyes were a murky blue that looked like they belonged on a dead fish instead of a human. Her calm demeanor was an obvious lie revealed by the quivering of her lips as she bit down on them.

The veteran wizards said nothing else as they lowered their heads in grief. The kids had yet to learn just how dangerous their occupation was, but to lose someone like Lisanna? It was gut-wrenching. It was like a painful knot being hatefully twisted around inside of them.

They would never be able to comprehend how Natsu felt.

As soon as the words were spoken, Gray had practically bolted from his chair and to Natsu's side but he was too late.

"What did you just say...?"

Everyone stood paralyzed as Natsu's tone was the coldest anyone had ever heard him speak. His fists balled themselves so tightly that his nails turned white from the pressure while exposing a bulging vein on the side of his temple. As he took a sharp breath of air, the surrounding wizards could have sworn they saw embers come from his mouth.

Happy's reaction was even worse. The blue cat looked catatonic as if his small heart was being ripped out of his chest. "No... you're lying..." Small tears emerged from the corners of his eyes before slowly rolling down his cheeks. "Lisanna's not dead! She's not!"

Natsu went straight for Mirajane. Seeing this, Gray quickly took action and used his two arms to grab Natsu from behind and hold him back.

"YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO PROTECT HER! YOU SAID THAT YOU COULD HANDLE THE QUEST WITHOUT ME! LET ME GO, GRAY!"

Natsu's screams of outrage tore through the hall while Gray struggled to keep his hold on Natsu. Mirajane's frame trembled with each shout and accusation directed towards her. Her strength to stand here continued to corrode as she could practically feel her composure crumble apart.

Happy sat on the barren floor of the guild oblivious to his surroundings. The winged cat repeatedly murmured to himself that it couldn't possibly be true and that Lisanna was still alive. He wasn't trying to convince Mira and Elfman that they were mistaken. If anything he was trying to convince himself.

Standing by the second floor's banister, Makarov Dreyar observed with a stern gaze and was prepared to interfere until a hand suddenly stopped one.

Looking to its owner, he found Naruto shake his head from side to side. His expression said it all.

"Natsu needs this. No one will get hurt, I promise."

Trusting in Naruto, Makarov nodded before returning his gaze below.

Besides her siblings, Natsu had been the closest person to Lisanna since they were kids. Makarov had watched the two grow up together for years and it pained his aged heart to see Natsu like this. If Natsu bottled up these feelings they would only hurt someone else, or worse, himself.

Beside the master, Naruto stood with his arms crossed over his chest. Casting a scanning gaze over the crowd below, Naruto opted to study Fairy Tail's member count.

In the far back corner, he found a group of three close to his age comprised one of girl and two boys. The blue-haired girl was silently crying to herself while being comforted by her teammates.

His keen eyes picked out a particular girl near the counter.

She had long, flowing chestnut hair, brown capri pants, and a bikini top on as her preferred style of dress. He safely assumed that she was quite the drinker for her age judging by the large barrels of what he could only assume contained alcohol set next to her. As expected, she was as sober as can be. Her expression was one of anguish as the intensity of the negative emotions he felt from her was greater than the others.

Before she left, Naruto had also noticed the scarlet-haired mage leave the guildhall with feelings equally as intense as the brunette.

However, there were only two who really stuck out.

" **That pink-haired brat's releasing a lot of negative emotions right now, kit. Shouldn't you step in?** "

Natsu was his name. The shinobi had heard his name murmured numerous times since his arrival and he wouldn't be forgetting it anytime soon. His eyes darted towards Mirajane, the second source.

The amount of pain, heartbreak, and guilt she gave off only continued to grow and he could practically feel how close she was to breaking.

"Yeah, I know. I—"

"IT WASN'T HER FAULT!"

Before Naruto could respond, a loud shout momentarily overpowered Natsu's multiple ones. Naruto and a few others winced at the sheer volume of the masculine voice that belonged to to no one other than Elfman. Everyone's eyes fell on the gentle giant who looked more fragile than glass.

The son of Igneel's shouts of anger were halted by the Beast Soul mage, a shamefaced and penitent expression marking his self-deprecating countenance.

"Please, Natsu... I..." the gentle giant rasped. "I'm the one you should be blaming not Mira... I tried to use takeover on the beast and lost control... I'm the one who killed Lisanna..."

What happened next was a blur to Gray Fullbuster. A harsh elbow logged itself into his side knocking all the air out of his chest as his hold on Natsu loosened.

The dragon slayer was already upon Elfman in the next second with a fiery fist raised and a blaze burning in his eyes as an agonized roar of hurt and sadness bellowed from his gut.

Makarov's eyes widened as he had already jumped over the second floor's railing and was slowly making his descent to the main floor. It wasn't enough. He wouldn't make it in time to shield Elfman.

Out of the corner of his eyes, he could've sworn he saw a blur of black and red whiz right past him.

From Natsu's perspective, it was like having an out-of-body experience. He knew it was his body, but as soon as he heard Elfman speak it was like his arms moved on its own. His legs propelled him forward with absolute ferocity running through them. His fist was only mere inches away from hitting Elfman while his ears blocked out the cries of everyone yelling for him to stop.

Expecting to hit and potentially break Elfman's jaw, his fist would never reach its target.

A loud crack echoed across the hall, a sound created through the clash of two humans.

Now in between Natsu and Elfman, Naruto had the fire mage's burning right hand firmly captured within his left before completely snuffing out the flames. His black, red-lined cloak slowly fluttered back down due to its inability to keep up with the speed its owner moved with. The shinobi's calm blue eyes were neither angry or irritated, but were instead gentle.

As Makarov landed on the main floor, he stared on in shock at the fact that Naruto's speed had managed to beat him there by miles. He knew for a fact that the blond jumped after he did but to witness a display of speed that he couldn't even see? It was unimaginable for him as a guild master.

As Natsu tried to push Naruto out of the way, the shinobi didn't bother an inch and spoke up. "If you want someone to take your anger out on, then you can take it out on me."

"Who the hell are you?" Natsu spoke with eyes narrowed in suspicion.

"My name's Naruto Uzumaki. I saved Mirajane but I wasn't fast enough to save her sister. This makes me just as responsible, so leave him be."

The jinchuriki calmly released his grip on Natsu who had come to his senses. A smaller fire still burned in his eyes as he stood resolute against the whiskered blond.

"Move. This is between me and him."

"You should be more careful." Naruto spoke ignoring the younger boy's demand. "You almost hurt your friend with that stunt."

Before Natsu could question him, he followed Naruto's gaze before his eyes widened. Cradling his unconscious frame in his arms, Naruto was currently holding a sleeping Happy as he silently gestured towards the feline's previous spot. When Natsu had shoved Gray backwards, the ice wizard had been shoved into a table that still had plates and flatware on top. The edge of the table had created a dent in the place where Happy had been left.

The table could have seriously injured him if he hadn't been moved.

Luckily Happy was already unconscious due to the massive shock he received making it easier for the shinobi to swiftly save him.

Natsu's facial features slowly turned pale while his entire body started to tremble, the realization of just how close he was to losing someone else sinking in.

Naruto slowly approached the trembling dragon slayer before carefully giving Happy back to Natsu, the Exceed's peaceful snores soothing his partner's nerves.

Wordlessly, Natsu rigidly turned around before leaving the guild. Everyone's eyes followed his departing back until he finally exited through the doors.

As if nothing happened, Naruto turned around and walked towards Mirajane while ignoring them, the countless wary gazes being directed towards his back. She hadn't even noticed Natsu almost attacking Elfman. Her eyes were shadowed by her hair while her quivering had yet to cease.

Each step he took drew him closer until he finally stood directly in front of her. Elfman's sideways gaze were focused solely on him just like the others but he paid them no mind. The shinobi placed a hand on her shoulder before lowering his mouth to the side of her ear.

"Your sister must have been a wonderful person to be cared for by everyone here." he gently whispered.

Her shivering calmed for only a brief moment but the jinchuriki could tell she had heard.

Straightening up, he noticed by her expression that she was back in reality. Her tear-stained complexion still remained as torn as it had been but she looked better. His resolute cerulean eyes were locked with her sapphire orbs, silently telling her that it would be okay.

He offered one last smile before turning to leave. On his way out, he stopped by the still downed Gray and held his hand outwardly.

The Ice Make mage was still holding his side after getting blindsided by Natsu. Noticing Naruto's hand, he accepted the hand gratefully and was pulled to his feet.

"Thanks..."

"Mm."

In the heat of it all, no one else besides Makarov would ever think about just how fast he had moved to save Happy and block Natsu at the same time. With no more distractions, Naruto left out of respect for a family that had just lost a dear member.

 **The East Forest**

Sitting against a sturdy tree, Naruto rolled up the sleeve of his red jacket beneath his cloak. Channeling his chakra towards the limb, a seal appeared on his wrist. He placed two fingers on the marking and, almost instantaneously, two scrolls burst into existence in a cloud of smoke.

Naruto blinked confusedly remembering only receiving one from his father. The one from his father had been a simple green scroll that he could have found from nearly any ninja tool supply shop in Konoha. The mysterious second one was pure white with black rods on each end.

Unfurling the second one, Naruto was greeted with a message.

" _Dear Naruto, if you are reading this then that means you have safely arrived to Earthland. I am glad that I was able to be of use._ "

"This is..."

" **This writing belongs to the old man!** "

Naruto could hear the surprise evident in even Kurama's voice as he continued to read the letter.

" _Although only a short while has passed since we said our goodbyes, I wanted to impart a few words to you, so please indulge this old fool. When I look at you Uzumaki Naruto, I see a child who has become the man he is today without the presence of family. Watching you reunite with your parents for one last time brought a nostalgic warmth that I hadn't felt in ages. Your father has passed on his knowledge while your mother has passed on her blood. I believe that it is only suitable to present you with a farewell gift as well._ "

Looking towards the bottom left corner of the parchment, Naruto noticed a seal that could be released. Placing his thumb on the mark, a new object appeared in a puff of smoke.

As he held the delicate object in his hand, Naruto couldn't stop the warm smile that spread across his features.

The Sage of Six Path's final gift was a picture in a frame. It was a picture of his family. Minato and Kushina were smiling brightly to the camera dressed in their civilian attire while holding an infant him together in their arms. The picture looked like it had been taken near Konoha's river beneath the shade of a tree. His mother was wearing a light green sundress while his father wore a white short-sleeved shirt and a pair of long blue pants.

It was beautiful, almost like a portrait that had been painted as a photograph.

" **When it comes to giving gifts, the old man's in a league of his own.** " Kurama chuckled in reminiscence.

"Yeah, he really is." Naruto laughed.

As Naruto held the Sage's gift within his hands, he heard the loud cracking sound of a tree collapsing in the distance. An audible crash boomed throughout the forest while the squawks of birds flying away accompanied it.

Carefully making sure to return the picture and scroll to the seal on his wrist, Naruto climbed up to his feet before patting himself down.

"Kurama, can you tell what was that?"

" **It's nothing hostile if that's what you're wondering.** " The tailed beast yawned. " **I'm going to go back to sleep. If you need help, don't ask me.** "

"You've been sleeping a lot lately." Naruto idly noted while running through the forest.

" **Why wouldn't I? I finally have a living space that's not flooded with water and in a metal sewer.** "

"Oh, I see- WAIT WHAT?! What do you mean by that?!"

Kurama made an audible "ahh" sound as if realizing he had forgotten something important.

" **Since the seal's no longer there to hold me back, I can alter the area I live in as much as I want. You should see what I've done with the dumpster that you used to have.** "

"Just... Just go to sleep, damn you."

With the inner conversation serving as a distraction from boredom, the shinobi arrived to his destination in mere moments.

As he emerged from the forest line, he was greeted to the sight of the same crimson-haired swordswoman from before cleaving through what looked like her fourth tree in a single swing. The blade met hardly any resistance judging by how the top of the trunk cleanly slid off revealing a perfect cut.

The woman wore a silver breastplate with a bronze cross-shaped design marking the front. Her attire also featured a navy, blue skirt and a pair of brown boots that rose up halfway in length to her calves. Lastly, her most prominent feature was without a doubt her stunning red hair that matched his mother in intensity.

"Hey, uh, can I please ask you to stop butchering those trees? You're scaring off the... well... everything."

Although he wasn't exactly the best, he was still a shinobi that excelled in moving very, very, lightly. He could tell that the mage hadn't even heard him walk up to her exposed back if what happened next wasn't already an indicator.

Startled by the unfamiliar voice, Erza whirled around directing the tip of her blade to the stranger's throat in one fluid motion. She hadn't even heard or sense him arrive until he spoke.

Her hazel brown eyes met ocean blue that reflected neither fear or worry. "Um, hi?"

Erza's eyes lit up in recognition as she remembered where she had seen him from before. He was the stranger that had arrived with Mirajane and Elfman. Her eyes widened even further as she watched Naruto roll up the sleeve of his jacket to reveal a black Fairy Tail guild stamp. It didn't even take her longer than a second to withdraw her sword.

"Naruto Uzumaki. I'm a new member, nice to meet you."

"Erza Scarlet." was her simple reply. "And I apologize for almost hurting you."

Naruto waved off her apology with a reassuring smile. "It's fine, I'm used to it."

Erza gave a strange look and said nothing else as Naruto decided to observe his surroundings in closer detail. She internally sighed as the feeling in her chest hadn't subsided. Her expression reflected the turmoil in her heart that she had hoped to quell by releasing her frustrations through venting.

Looking down, she checked to see that her sword was still in good condition before moving on to the next batch of trees.

"So I guess that's a no?"

Erza glanced behind her to see that Naruto's attention was focused back on her. His expression unyielding along with his request. "Pardon?

"I asked you to stop chopping down some trees, but you look like you don't plan on listening."

"Do you think you can stop me?" she questioned through narrowed eyes. This man's head was held up far too high if he was underestimating her this much.

"I don't see why not. After all unlike those trees, I'll actually put up a fight."

Oh, he had really done it. Within seconds, two new broadswords materialized in a golden light and flew into the grip of their owner.

"I am not in a pleasant mood, so the responsibility of what happens next lies solely with you."

Kicking off the ground, Erza launched towards Naruto twisting her body in midair to slash twice, once with each blade.

The jinchuriki leaped backwards creating a large divide between them while his hand reflexively moved towards his tool pouch. His eyes suddenly widened upon realizing he didn't have a ninja tool pouch anymore.

" _Ohh, shit..._ "

His hands frantically searched through his pockets, sleeves, and nearly any other spot that he could think of in search for a weapon, but it was to no avail. Erza had already noticed this and took full advantage. The knight continued her charge towards the shinobi reaching him in a matter of seconds with both blades raised.

"Hah!"

The two broadswords moved towards him without any sign of stopping. Thinking quick, the jinchuriki moved his palm from the side in order to hit and redirect the tip of the blade away from his person but what happened instead shocked both of them.

As soon as his palm made contact with the side of the blade, his thrust completely destroyed Erza's weapons into fragments. The scarlet warrior's eyes widened as she watched the bits and pieces of her weapons scatter into the air. Without a moment's hesitation, she jumped back to gain some distance away.

Her eyes focused on the new recruit intently, scanning over him in search for any signs of magical enhancement or hidden weapons. If anything, the fact that he looked like he had no idea what happened either only served to annoy her even more.

The shinobi's grin widened much to her chagrin as he finally noticed something.

Looking down into his own palm, Naruto saw it. A pointed blade resembling the tip of a kunai protruded from the palm of his hand while the base of it was still hidden _inside_ his palm.

" _I wonder..._ "

Closing his eyes, he visualized both the kunai's blade and handle before slowly withdrawing it out of his body. Feeling something tangible in his left hand, he opened his eyes to see a slightly glowing, golden kunai now in his hand.

It was without a doubt the pointed end of her mother's Adamantine Chakra Chains without the links at the end.

" _Seriously? Does this mean I can create an endless amount of kunai?_ "

Deciding to put his theory to the test, Naruto repeated the process of visualizing another ninja tool feeling the same pull from before. He watched as a second kunai materialized in his other hand before he retracted it back into his body.

" _Oh that is so freaking cool._ "

Giving the first kunai a couple of test swings, his contagious smile reflected his satisfaction with its overall quality. "Now that I have a weapon, come at me whenever."

Erza glared at the easy-going blond, her body already gathering the magic necessary for what followed after. "Don't be so arrogant. **Requip**!"

Naruto's eyes blinked in surprise while his mouth had an "whoa" shape. Erza was finally giving him a display of "magic" firsthand. Her body was enveloped in a heavenly, light that clung to her form like a second skin. Ripples in the air formed around her hands before in a flash of light it was over.

The standard armor plate that she donned before had undergone a total transformation. Two wings of steel emerged from her back while a matching, winged headband sat upon her head like a crown. Her breastplate had extended into a skirt mail with fur edges, but what really made the armor intimidating was the continuously circling blades behind it.

"Heaven's Wheel Armor." she confidently spoke.

Counting a total of fifteen swords, Naruto ventured to guess that this new armor provided a lot more benefits in terms of numbers when compared to her previous one. Readjusting the grip on his dagger into a reverse-grip hold, he fearlessly charged forward towards his opponent's trump card.

"Go!"

Erza pointed the sword in her right hand towards Naruto, and as if they possessed a mind of their own, the floating swords behind her all pointed their tips at him before soaring towards him at breakneck speeds.

" _Let's see if I've still got it._ "

Calling on his chakra, he felt the energy rush through his veins like a river towards his hands before they enveloped the chakra chain dagger like a sheathe.

" _Like Asuma said, grind the two sides together in order to create a fine point..._ "

Slowly but surely, the wind chakra coating his kunai gained form as a glowing, ethereal blue blade that extended to the size of a short sword. With one hand, Naruto swung the blade with both precision and timing as he cut through the swords like butter as soon as they reached him. One by one, each of the fifteen blades were cut down into pieces as he grew closer and closer to Erza's position.

Materializing more swords behind her, Erza rushed towards her opponent who had to quickly evade in order to match the different timings of intercepting a blade and Erza at the same time. The moment he jumped allowed him to cut down the sword first before blocking Erza's twin slash.

The strength the knight had put into her attack launched Naruto backwards into the forest with Erza moving quickly in pursuit.

As they moved through the trees at a breakneck pace, she watched in surprise as Naruto maneuvered through the forest with the dexterity of a monkey. It was clear that he didn't possess the ability to fly like she did, but his alternative was rather... odd.

By timing his jumps, Naruto would leap from branch to branch while simultaneously performing flips in order to dodge an oncoming blade or slash it down while he was still airborne.

" _Damn it, I won't be able to hit him at this rate. Let's see you get through this!_ "

Summoned by a golden light, thirty blades materialized behind Erza, ready to command by her and her alone. Using her telekinesis, she manipulated the winged-shaped broadswords to rotate at blinding speeds. It didn't take long until none of the individual swords could be discerned from the large bladed ring.

" **Circle Sword**!"

She sent the whirling wheel of blades that was nearly fifteen feet in diameter towards its designated enemy. A confident smile graced her attractive features as a sense of victory grasped at her fingertips.

" _There's no way to dodge as they will only chase after you, Uzumaki. It's my win!_ "

Expecting the new member stop and raise his arms in surrender, her predictions were blown out of the water. Refusing to budge a single inch, Naruto performed one final jump that took him out of the forest and onto Magnolia's river bank. The clean river behind him glimmered with the sun's light slightly blinding Erza's vision but she would clearly see what happened next.

Turning to face the storm of swords, he held out his blade of blue energy to the side while an amused grin spread across his lips.

"Sorry Erza, but there's one thing you should probably know." His tone was nonchalant and calm, as if there weren't thirty sharpened swords aiming to slice him all at once. "Even if you brought out one-thousand, none of these dull swords could ever beat the sharpest knife."

Switching into a reverse-grip with the extended point facing downwards, Naruto literally vanished from his spot.

From her position, Erza's eyes were locked on the departing back of her Circle Sword formation. The very next moment Naruto disappeared, the ring of swords exploded into a whirlwind of shards and scraps of metal that were blown away by gusts of wind.

"It's my win."

Her eyes widened as they slowly looked downwards finally noticing the buzzing blade held at her throat. She hadn't even noticed Naruto's presence right next to her until he spoke. It wouldn't even take a second for him to kill her if he wanted.

"I-I concede." she said swallowing her pride.

And just like that, he was back to normal. The blue, humming knife at her throat vanished into particles of light while a hearty smack on the back of her armor caused her to cutely yelp in surprise.

Erza quickly covered her mouth while an embarrassed heat burned in her cheeks. She turned to glare at the blond who didn't even notice her as he was currently stretching.

"Well, that was fun. Feeling better now?"

Erza blinked once. Wait...

"Did you... did you challenge me just to satisfy your boredom?" she asked in disbelief.

Naruto apologetically smiled while chuckling. "No, that wasn't my reason entirely. I was actually hoping for a chance to ask you a couple things."

Erza blankly stared at Naruto, silently contemplating whether or not she should be angry that he had utterly defeated her out of a sense of boredom or compliant to his request.

She suddenly realized something. He beat her... He had beat an S-Class mage like it was an every day chore!

"Forgive me for asking, but where exactly did you come from again?"

Naruto tilted his head in confusion at the rather abrupt change of subject. "Uh, I was walking through a forest when I found Mira—"

"No! I meant your previous affiliation. Do not take this the wrong way, but I'm one of the strongest members of Fairy Tail, yet you defeated me without suffering a scratch. This begs the question as to who and where you originally worked for." Erza explained with a slight glare.

Ah, shit.

This question was bound to come up eventually but at the moment even he didn't have an answer.

"I guess you could call me something of a freelance mercenary?" Naruto nervously chuckled.

"Mercenary?" Erza stared incredulously. "You mean to tell me that you've never joined a guild until now of all times?"

"More or less. I would usually just complete requests here and there." he shrugged.

Erza could only stare dumbfounded at the blond. She had no idea whether to be flattered that he had joined Fairy Tail alone or shocked at the fact that he was practically the same age having ONLY joined Fairy Tail.

Pinching the bridge of her nose, she closed her eyes and accepted his answers with a sigh.

"I believe you had questions..."

"What was Lisanna like?"

Erza's eyes snapped open prepared to berate him for his rude prying only to suddenly stop. It wasn't childlike curiosity or an insensitive desire of personal information that drove the question. His cerulean blue eyes only sought understanding.

Her gaze softened understanding his position. Lisanna had a strong presence in the lives of everyone and it was only natural that he wished to understand just how much.

Erza moved to sit down on the grassy hillside by the river. She pulled her legs towards her chest. If she wasn't obligated to give a serious response, she would have chuckled at the irony that she was sitting in the exact same place that she used to go to every day when she felt like crying after she joined. She didn't feel like crying for herself this time.

"Lisanna was a kind soul." Erza smiled in sad reminiscence.

Following her example, Naruto sat next to Erza on the grassy hill silently listening.

"She didn't like fighting among ourselves and often took it upon herself to soothe ruffled feathers and preserve the peace. She loved everyone and took care of us like a mother even though she was the youngest out of all of us." She slightly chuckled. "And this happened quite often with Natsu the most. She paid him the most attention always making sure he was on his best behavior and respectful towards others."

"Were they close?"

Erza's gentle gaze watched the steady river as it continued to flow through Magnolia at a mellow pace.

"She was Natsu's first friend and Happy's mother."

Naruto frowned, his eyes shadowed by his hair as Erza continued to recall past memories while memories of his own resurfaced. .

"It seems like it was so long ago when they first found Happy's egg and raised him in a small home they built."

"I see, that explains it."

Erza turned to give Naruto an inquisitive stare, the shinobi remembering that she had departed early.

"After you left, Natsu almost attacked Elfman after learning that he was the one who accidentally killed her."

Erza's expression mirrored her utter disbelief and doubt. "Elfman did it...? Is he okay?"

"Physically, yes. I managed to stop Natsu and send him away. Emotionally...?" Naruto paused, remembering the state of the older brother before he left. "I really don't know..."

An uncomfortable silence fell. Erza couldn't possibly imagine how Elfman felt, knowing that he had to live with the fact that he killed his sister.

"How did you know?"

Erza's was brought out of her inner turmoil by Naruto's sudden question.

"How did you know what happened to Lisanna even though you weren't there?"

Erza's eyes reflected a heart-pained sadness. The reason that she knew was the same reason that she was in the forest in the first place.

"Mira and I are rivals. We know each other sometimes even better than we know ourselves. When... when she first came into the guild, I could tell immediately that something was wrong. Her magic was just gone."

Naruto's cerulean orbs gradually widened. "What do you mean by that?"

"It's exactly like I said. I couldn't even feel the magic that she used to have and with Lisanna missing, it wasn't difficult to figure out." Erza downheartedly answered. "Even from here I can feel her magic waning away. Mirajane will no longer be a mage."

The reason for Erza's distress finally dawned upon the shinobi. She wasn't just mourning for the loss of a family member. She was also mourning the loss of a rival. The scarlet mage probably couldn't find a way to help her friend and rival which is why she had decided to take it out on the forest.

Naruto gazed at the white clouds as they rolled along the clear sky, one cloud in particular resembling the head of a young boy. What if it were him? If Sasuke had decided to quit being a shinobi instead of pursue revenge, what would have changed? Would he have come to stand where he is today if he wasn't chasing after him? Would have grown stronger without the shadow that he desperately tried to escape from?

"No, I won't let her."

Erza's gaze flickered towards Naruto, wholly believing that she had misheard him.

"W-What?"

"Lisanna is the type of person who would want everyone to be happy even if she were gone. I won't let Mirajane run away and give up."

"N-Naruto, you just joined today! How could you possibly know what Lisanna would have wanted?"

Erza's question wasn't meant to spite Naruto for barely knowing Lisanna. She wanted to know just how he could be so confident in his belief of what Lisanna wanted.

"From everything that you told me, can you really tell me that I'm wrong?"

Erza intended to argue before she stopped. "No... I can't."

Naruto's belief in Lisanna wasn't wrong, if anything it was 100% accurate.

"Even if she tries to lock me out, I'll keep trying so count on it." Naruto grinned.

Erza stared incredulously at the whiskered teen's face. The fact that someone this interesting could fly under the radar for years astounded her to no end. She lightly chuckled before a grateful smile graced her features.

"For a mercenary, you're rather strange."

The shinobi returned the smile in full with a confident grin of his own.

"To be honest, I was never really good at my job."

 **Hours Later Somewhere Deep in the East Forest**

The sun still clung to the afternoon sky but it was slowly starting to descend. The clearing in the forest was tranquil and quiet except for the consistent sound of metal scraping rock. Sitting cross-legged in front of a small hut made of straw and sticks, a boy with pink hair held a knife using it to carve and engrave the a tombstone. Next to the boy, a blue cat quietly slept using his leg as a pillow.

After he had left the guildhall, Natsu had ventured up into the Magnolia's forest carrying Happy along with him until he finally reached his— no their— home. On his way up, he gathered a fairy large rock and picked up a knife from his home.

Using his magic, he cut the rock cleanly before setting out to work.

Carved on to the rock were the words, "Lisanna Strauss: Best Friend and Beloved Mother."

Above the script, the insignia of Fairy Tail had been meticulously engraved to create a magnificent image.

Carefully moving Happy to avoid disturbing him, Natsu softly smiled watching his partner's sleeping face.

Although he would deny Lisanna's presumptions that he was Happy's father, he would never say that the three of them weren't a family.

Setting the stone into a pre-dug hole, Natsu Dragneel refilled the crevices to hold the stone in place before standing up. It was an uncharacteristically beautiful aesthetic work of art for someone like him, but if it was for her he would do anything. His onyx eyes looked tired, as if he hadn't slept in ages. The pain in his chest hadn't gone away yet and neither had his anger.

Angry at who he didn't know. Mirajane for bringing in Lisanna on that mission or Elfman for foolishly denying his help.

He often wondered what his life would have been like if Lisanna hadn't come into his life. That day he came home carrying what he believed was a dragon egg at the time, was also the very same day he met Lisanna Strauss.

Back then he didn't have the first clue on how to raise an egg, yet Lisanna was the only one who readily volunteered herself to help. They built the hut behind him as their first home. It wouldn't fit either of them now, but it was still their first home together and its memories wouldn't die with Lisanna.

Every day whether it be rainy or sunny they would carry Happy's egg and set him down in the freshly collected straw. They would wrap him in layers of blankets making sure he was warm before deciding to read stories. Lisanna would be the one to read while Natsu listened along with the egg.

He still vividly remembered his favorite story that Lisanna read.

 _Long ago, a kingdom's king and queen sought to marry off their daughter into a foreign land in order to gain more power. The princess chose to reject her fate and had run away from her castle. She crossed over rivers and traversed through forests for two days and two nights with barely any provisions. As she collapsed due to hunger and weakness, she arrived at death's door awaiting his cold embrace. That is until she was saved by a wandering dragon on the outskirts of her land. The dragon found her unconscious and carried her back to his den where nourished her back to health and took care of her._

 _When the princess awakened, she was greeted with the sight of a massive, crimson dragon. Rather than scream in fright, her hazel eyes met the dragon's red ones and asked, "Are you the one who saved me?"_

 _The dragon replied, "I am. Do you not fear me?"_

 _The princess smiled and shook her head. "A dragon that saves a human isn't evil."_

 _For years the dragon had wandered through hundreds of lands. In each one he had saved a human life: man, woman, or even child._

 _And nearly every time he had been met with fear or betrayal. Nevertheless he refused to give up his search for proof, proof that humans and dragons could coexist._

 _"Even if I were to crack open your skull, would you not fear me then?"_

 _The princess shook her head once more. "Even if I were to die, my soul would not rest until it has repaid your kindness."_

 _For the first time in decades, the dragon stared at the young woman perplexed. "What is your name?"_

 _"My name is ..."_

The book that Lisanna read was aged and had parts that were worn and torn away, but the ending remained intact.

After the dragon and the princess's faithful meeting, they flew away and created a prosperous kingdom of their own that would stand for centuries.

Perhaps it was a bit childish of him, but Natsu had always put himself in the role of the dragon and Lisanna in the role of the princess. She was the first and only one who ever truly reached out to him despite his less than desirable behavior. They came from completely different worlds, but together they created many things. They had fun playing around and going on adventures despite being the other's only company.

"It's a very beautiful stone, Natsu. I'm sure Lisanna would have been grateful."

Natsu didn't even bother to turn around. He had already known who it was due to his keen sense of smell. Glancing over his shoulder, his hollow onyx eyes met oceanic cerulean. The same oceanic cerulean that he had met for the first time a couple hours ago.

Naruto emerged from the forest and continued to walk forward until he stood side by side with Natsu. His gaze fell on the handmade tombstone with both respect and piety.

"How did you find me?" Natsu despondently asked, eyes still focused on Lisanna's grave.

"I have my ways." Naruto shrugged. "I asked around and I figured you'd be here."

It wasn't the total truth but it wasn't a total lie either. Kurama's ability to sense negative emotions helped greatly.

The two stood in silence listening to the chirping birds in the background along with the occasional breeze of wind that swept through the trees.

"Do you hate me?" Naruto suddenly asked.

Natsu was quiet, his body refusing to move from its current spot.

"No..." was his hushed answer.

Naruto carefully observed Natsu from the corners of his eyes, gauging his reactions.

"Do you hate Mirajane?"

"No..."

He wasn't lying so far.

Naruto sighed before asking one third and final time.

"Do you hate Elfman?"

As Natsu gazed upon the grave that would serve as Lisanna's resting place, he could only see her smiling and gentle face. His fists clenched themselves tightly while a tight lump formed in his throat. The corners of his eyes stung while he could feel his voice starting to choke up.

"No, I don't..."

The jinchuriki softly smiled as he pulled out a bouquet of flowers before laying them down in front of Lisanna's grave. The flowers were diverse in color. Just like how Lisanna's presence brought color into everyone's lives.

"Do you know what it feels like? Having someone close to you die?"

Naruto glanced towards Natsu who had asked the question. The dragon slayer's eyes had finally begun to show an emotion other than anger as tears started to cascade down his cheeks. He closed his eyes shut and choked back his sobs, forcing himself to remain standing.

Naruto's gaze softened as he looked at the grave in remembrance. The image of the grave he made for Jiraiya rising to the surface. After his teacher had passed away, he felt nothing but hollowness and anger that would have consumed him if not for the people around him.

He would never get the chance to make Neji's grave.

"I do."

Natsu collapsed to his knees and punched his fist into the ground, his sobs visibly causing his body to tremble in grief and sorrow.

"It's not fair..."

"It never is."

"Does the pain ever go away?"

Naruto wryly smiled. He stuck his hands into his pockets before shifting his gaze onto the orange sky. It was a breathtaking sight that reminded him of the people that lived on through death in his past. The Third Hokage, Zabuza and Haku, Jiraiya, Neji, and his parents.

"No, it doesn't."

Naruto crouched down and placed a hand on Natsu's shoulder, his eyes drifting towards Lisanna's name.

"That's why it's so important that you never forget them. Remember who you've lost..." Naruto spoke, his eyes drifting to Happy. "Remember what you still have, and lastly..."

He ruffled Natsu's head, prompting him to meet his strong gaze.

"Remember their hopes and dreams so that you can become strong enough to protect all of them. Become so strong that you'll never have to lose someone you love again. Even if they aren't with us anymore, they'll live on in our hearts, so keep living for them."

Natsu looked downwards one last time before regaining the strength to stand up. He wiped his eyes dry and sniffled. "I'll do it then..." he quietly murmured.

The son of Igneel scooped Happy into his arms before turning to face Naruto, his expression one of determination and fortitude. "I'll get strong enough to protect everyone at Fairy Tail."

Naruto chuckled and smiled. "I'll be right next to you when you do. For now, please go back to the guild. They'll want you there for her funeral."

Natsu nodded, slightly shifting Happy in his arms before deciding to ask his question. "Are you coming too? Even if you just joined, your a member of our family now."

The blond lightly laughed in a reassuring manner. "Don't worry about me. I'm just going to stay with Lisanna for a bit."

He waved goodbye until Natsu was no longer in sight. He turned to face the grave once more before sitting down cross-legged. A comfortable air of silence and tranquility formed around him as he admired Natsu's handcrafted work.

"I really wish I got to meet you, Lisanna. You have a wonderful family here." the shinobi spoke with a melancholy smile. "They're a rather quirky and interesting bunch... they like to fight, they can be pretty crazy, but I can see why you loved them so much."

Most people would consider him crazy for talking to graves, but to Naruto it was like having a conversation with a real person. Even if they couldn't speak to him, he would treat them like they could.

"You won't have anything to worry about, Lisanna... I'll watch over them for you and I'll make sure to not let Mirajane give up from this. That's an Uzumaki promise."

Naruto stood up and dusted off his pants. He gave once last glance to the grave before vanishing in a swirl of leaves.

In less than a week, the Hero of the Leaf, Winner of the Fourth Great Shinobi War, Descendant of the Sage of Six Paths, and the Jinchuriki of the Nine Tails found himself attached to a group of people with hearts nearly matching his own in size.

 **I feel like I should probably mention this given my history with reviews. I have NOT changed the pairing. I'll be working on the next one so hopefully I can get it out in less than two weeks.**


	3. You're not Alone

Person/Human talking

 _Person/Human thinking_

 **Demon talking**

 _ **Demon thinking**_

 **Technique name**

 **I don't own anything including the cover art**

 **If you're one of the people who requested that I do a harem than I HIGHLY recommend that you go over to my profile and find a section listed under "Reasons why I don't believe in Multi-Pairings a.k.a Harems" which is under the section "Plot Holes" and above the section "Fan Art". Or if you're interested in my opinion on them, then by all means go ahead.**

 **Kardia Cathedral Cemetery**

Two days passed since Naruto joined Fairy Tail, but the air today was far more somber. Gathered in the Kardia Cathedral's graveyard, the entirety of Fairy Tail's wizards came together in mourning.

Lined up in rows, the wizards had all worn black for the occasion in order to pay their respects to both the deceased and her siblings.

The skies were darkened with murky, gray clouds that overwhelmed the clear sky in its entirety while silent doldrums settled around the cemetery, killing off all traces of the wind. As if the sky was mourning the loss of one of its most beloved inhabitants, the rain trickled down the headstone like tear accompanied by the millions of rain drops that were shed onto the earth below, completing the visage of sorrow.

A cold, biting air surrounded the loved ones gathered as they looked on at the epitaph.

"Here Lies Lisanna Strauss, Beloved Sister and Friend to Animal Souls X768-X782"

The stone wasn't extravagant or gaudy, no if anything it was perfect. It's design was a simple marble surface, yet it held an imperceptible elegance. It was a magnificent final tribute to Lisanna's memory.

The service lasted two hours but no one would have cared if it lasted all day. Some had brought umbrellas expecting rain and used them while others couldn't find it in themselves to give a damn about getting wet.

Naruto stood towards the back of the group holding an umbrella of its own. The black color matched well with the black suit, tie, and dress pants that he wore over a white undershirt.

He was rather grateful that the mages in Fairy Tail were generous considering his only set of clothes consisted of what he had when he arrived.

Gray had loaned him the suit stating that it was one of the nicer spares that he always kept.

Looking around, the blond observed and carefully studied each guest. One of the groups that he hadn't seen before stood near the back along with him.

The unmistakable leader of the four had striking yellow hair like his own, but that was the only similarity. A lightning bolt-shaped scar went over his right eye while his body's stature was much bulkier in comparison to the shinobi's.

Judging by the way they carried themselves, the two men and woman behind him were his teammates or followers.

One had long, distinctive green hair and his looks alone gave him an appearance only gifted to that of nobility.

If the jinchuriki had to describe the second male, he would have to describe him as... unique. The dark, blue-haired mage had an x-shaped tattoo going over his face The dark, blue-haired mage had a stick-figure tattoo going over his face while his hair had been slicked back for the occasion.

The third member's, the woman, most distinctive features included the glasses that sat on the bridge of her nose while her tan-colored hair was tied outwardly to the side.

Just like the rest of the group, the leader was dressed in a black suit, white undershirt, and black tie. Even if they gave off the feeling that they weren't very close to the rest of their guild, their feelings of regret and sympathy were genuine.

Deciding to ignore the group, his eyes refocused on the others close by.

Natsu stood towards the front of the group along with Erza and Gray. Natsu's disposition emitted a taciturn strength as he held a weeping Happy in his arms. His honest and straightforward eyes never left Lisanna's name even as he tried to soothe his friend.

Although his heart greatly ached, the shinobi took solace in the fact that the infamous pair would undoubtedly move past this.

A small smile crossed his lips seeing Erza comfort the boy in a sisterly manner while Gray did the same.

Standing closest to Lisanna's memorial, Mirajane and Elfman grieved over the loss of their sister while Makarov remained close by choosing to stand behind the two.

The area around the old man's eyes were red indicating that he had mourned recently as well. Despite possessing a stature only a few inches taller than a toad, Makarov's atmosphere radiated with both unwavering resolve and unbreakable pride.

" **You're regressing.** "

Naruto's smile turned into one of melancholy regret as his gaze shifted towards the drops of water that fell from the tip of his umbrella's edges. The voice within his mind belonging to his nine-tailed companion.

"A little bit." He inwardly replied to his partner, watching as a lone raindrop fell to the ground.

The jinchuriki was never a fan of funerals. He remembered the first one being Sarutobi Hiruzen's which was later followed by his son Asuma's. Jiraiya came not long after but he was thankful it ended there.

A word like depressing couldn't possibly ever hope to describe the atmosphere of funerals. The pain, the misery, the regret, the blame, the never-ending chain of thoughts like, "I could have prevented this" were always parts of the process.

The blond could hear Kurama's aged sigh from the inner confines of his mind.

" **You can't expect yourself to live up to everyone's expectations. Even if those expectations haven't even been developed.** "

The fox settled into a more comfortable position, using his arms as a makeshift pillow to rest his chin upon. He closed his heavy eyelids while he yawned tiredly.

" **Whenever you meet new people** **, you always end up sacrificing your own happiness and well-being to protect theirs.** "

A lone crimson eye opened, reflecting centuries of experience.

" **You're doing the same thing as last time. You should be more concerned about yourself.** "

At Kurama's words, a wry grin etched itself onto his well-defined features. Gaze scanning over the friends that he had made so far.

"If I ever get to that point, I know I'll be able to rely on these people to bring me back."

Kurama's gravely chuckles reached the shinobi's ears. " **Still a stubborn brat as always.** "

The conversation between the strongest remnants of Chakra ended with the sound of wet footsteps exiting the cemetery. The shinobi's ocean blue eyes drifted towards the exit where an older man with slicked back blue hair while carrying a sleeping boy around the age of 4 in his arms started to leave.

"You leaving already, Macao?"

Macao, Naruto would make sure to remember the man's name.

"Yeah, I don't want Romeo to catch a cold in this weather, Wakaba."

The shinobi continued to note that the man with a pompadour was Wakaba who had nodded before moving to hold his umbrella over the father and son.

Slowly but surely, more Fairy Tail mages began to file out. One by one, two by two, they all left soundlessly, leaving the siblings that had lost a piece of themselves to lament over their sister.

Naruto wordlessly watched until Natsu, Erza, and Gray were the last ones to leave leaving behind Makarov, himself, and the Strauss siblings.

Makarov turned away from Mira and Elfman and silently made his way towards Naruto who had remained towards the back for the duration of the service. The wizened mage stood next to the shinobi, head hung low and eyes closed in thought.

"So you're a former mercenary, I hear?"

The blond's eyebrow quirked itself upwards in curiosity at the sudden inquiry.

"Erza told you?"

"More or less, but that's not really what I wished to ask you." Makarov evenly answered. "Were you serious?"

Seeing Naruto's expression of slight confusion, the third master decided to elaborate.

"Were you serious about your decision to help Mira?"

Ahh, so that's what this was about.

Naruto gave Makarov a reassuring smile as well.

"I never go back on my word."

For a brief moment, Makarov saw the image of countless people standing behind the newcomer. Numerous amounts of men, women, and kids of all ages smiling just as brightly as he, expressing their unyielding support as if to demonstrate his mettle. The old wizard tiredly smiled in resignation before continuing to walk forward towards the exit of the cemetery.

"Then, I'll leave her in your hands."

Over towards Lisanna's grave, Elfman stood next to his older sister who was kneeling on the wet, cobblestone. His typically tall and proud disposition was now hunched slightly forward as if his spine couldn't find the strength to uphold the rest of his body. After getting a check-up from the guild's reclusive doctor, Porlyusica, his head was wrapped in a bandage with a remedy that would soothe the aching in his head.

"Mira... we should head back."

"Not yet..."

Her voice was so soft that Elfman had barely heard it over the sound of the rain. Her left arm was now elevated by a proper cast prepared by Porlyusica. Knowing that her injury was also a result of his actions twisted a hard knot in his gut.

Elfman quietly nodded in acquiescence, knowing that she wanted a few moments to herself.

The second sibling turned around at the sound of footsteps that nearly blended itself with the light thrums of rain. His dreary countenance reflected surprise upon meeting the owner.

"Naruto?"

The shinobi nodded, a sympathetic tone present in his ocean blue orbs. They drifted over towards the snow-haired teen that had kept to herself.

"Don't worry, I'll make sure she gets home safely."

Elfman followed his gaze. A part of him wished to reject his offer, believing that he had already done more than enough for someone they had just met. That part of him was immediately quelled upon seeing the sheer sincerity glimmering in the most vivid cerulean pair of orbs he had ever seen.

He wordlessly nodded and started to walk past the blond before he was suddenly stopped.

"Elfman."

He looked over his shoulder, meeting the newcomer's small smile. "Natsu made Lisanna a grave by their first home. I'm sure he'd be happy if you went to see her there too."

Elfman bit the bottom of his lip, eyes stinging with a warm and moist feeling as he held onto his composure like it was a lifeline.

"Yeah... I'll make sure to." He strainedly rasped, his fists clenched tightly in an effort to keep himself from breaking down.

The gentle giant soundlessly left as the only sounds he made came from his shoes squishing against the wet cobble.

As he watched the Beast mage's departing back, Naruto turned around to see the rain endlessly pour itself down upon Mirajane. The girl didn't even bother putting on the hood of her black coat.

From Mirajane's position on the ground, she had thought Elfman had already left after she had requested him to do so leaving her as the last one in the cemetery. The mage had remained completely oblivious to the proceedings behind her due to having her attention focused on the last remnant of her sister.

She didn't expect another umbrella to move cover and shield her from the rain.

"I'm going to take you back home, okay?"

Her eyes slightly widened upon realizing the voice didn't belong to her brother. For the first time since the service, she lifted her head to look behind her, seeing the last person she ever expected to see.

"Nar...uto? Is that you...?"

Initially believing herself to be hallucinating, the blond's comforting smile and hand on her shoulder was firm proof that he wouldn't be leaving any her anytime soon.

"I'm really here. I'm going to take you home, okay?"

Regaining her senses, Mirajane fervently shook her head and lowered her gaze. "N-No, not yet. I'm going to stay for a little longer."

Naruto sighed good-naturedly and clasped onto her shoulder earning her attention. "If I let you stay, you'd be here all night. Your clothes are wet and you're only going to get yourself sick, y'know?"

Mirajane was going to deny Naruto's request but stopped after finally noticing his disposition. He wasn't asking her, no he was pleading her. His ocean blue orbs were laced with concern and worry while the corners of his lips shook slightly showing just how much he was trying to maintain a reassuring smile.

She downcastedly lowered her head, accepting the hand that pulled her back to her feet. She felt herself stumble as soon as she stood up, a sign that her legs had gone numb after kneeling in front of her sister's grave for hours.

Before she could fall to the ground, she was quickly caught by a pair of sturdy arms that held her close.

"It's okay. I've got you."

She couldn't meet his gaze yet felt Naruto's left arm wrap itself around her waist while he allowed her right arm to be wrapped over his neck. His left arm that went around her waist was careful not to put any pressure on her fractured arm and held her securely while his right hand held the umbrella firm making sure to keep her as dry as possible.

Holding on to young woman, Naruto started to walk forward alongside Mirajane. The way she moved resembled that of a puppet, without a mind or a soul. Her body moved on its own as if being guided by invisible strings attached to her hands and legs.

The shinobi matched each step he took with one that Mirajane took as her mind had automatically began to retrace her usual route home. The pair moved past the cemetery gates, surrounded by the melancholy and silent world of rain around them.

The quiet sounds of their footsteps pressing against the wet pathway were the only sounds as they moved past the empty shopping districts and street markets.

There was not a single soul in sight besides the two Fairy Tail members.

Naruto's cerulean eyes eventually looked down to see that Mira's gaze wasn't even focused on the path in front of her. Rather, they had been directed towards the right. Following her line of sight, Naruto's crescent blue orbs drifted towards Magnolia's famous canal system as he watched millions of raindrops create ripples in the water.

Some ripples were large while others were small. Others constantly impacted the same spot while others periodically altered their course. The water continuously melded its appearance to various shapes and forms, yet it didn't change the fact that it was a mesmerizing spectacle to behold.

The two stayed like this for the rest of the way. Mirajane whose legs would move on their own after having walked the same way home for years while Naruto followed each of her moves without a single misstep.

The calm, tranquil atmosphere that encompassed the pair like an intangible blanket had brought a warm air of comfort for Mirajane that she had not experienced for what felt like months.

Her heavy-hearted eyes that carried so much heartbreak managed to tear itself away from the river before refocusing on the man next to her.

Even as he managed to guide her while simultaneously matching her stride, the steady grip he had around her waist and hand did not waiver in the slightest. His eyes that seemed like the brightest blue that she had ever seen seemed... unreadable.

She couldn't garner any hints or clues as to what he could possibly be thinking about.

Her thoughts came to an end upon noticing that she now stood in front of her home. Naruto had stopped walking as well after following Mirajane's line of sight that fell on to a specific home.

"Can you stand on your own?"

Mirajane mutely nodded as Naruto slowly released her from his hold. If it were any other day, she would have grinned in amusement when the blond's hands hesitantly let her go as if they were afraid she'd crumple without them, and both were already prepared to catch her should she fall.

As she walked towards the front steps of her home, she was accompanied each step of the way by the whiskered teen who continued to hold the umbrella over her alone, not paying any mind to the growing wet spots on his shoulders.

Mirajane twisted the knob on her door and opened it. She turned to meet Naruto's watchful gaze, his eyes never once leaving her observant stare. She found it rather strange.

The yellow-haired, blue-eyed youth that she had only met a few days ago somehow had a unique presence. As if he had always been here, right beside her to keep her safe. His kind, honest personality was something that she had never quite seen before as it was different from the kinds that both Makarov and Natsu possessed.

From Naruto's perspective, his eyes scanned over each nearly imperceptible motion that Mirajane made. From the slight shivering of Mira's hands that he had tried his best to soothe when he held her to the almost mechanical gait that she walked with, Naruto's eyes studied her carefully, cerulean eyes fixated on discerning her wellbeing.

Despite how heart-broken she appeared, she possessed an unmentioned air of grace. Her resplendent, clear skin and magnificent snow-colored hair seemed to glimmer with the radiance of a white flower in its dreary, gray surroundings.

He would be lying if he said she didn't look breathtaking.

For the first time that day, Mira smiled. It wasn't one that could be considered sizable or noticeable, but it was there. As small as it was, it spoke volumes of her appreciation.

"Thank you..."

If it were anyone else, they may have not heard a tiny murmur of thanks that was akin to that of a whisper in the wind.

The shinobi waved his hand in a disregarding manner with a smile of his own.

"It really wasn't much, but just please get some rest."

He watched as the young woman gave one last glance before disappearing behind the door that slowly creaked shut.

The shinobi stood in front of the door for a few seconds longer before turning around on his heel to head back to his temporary place of residence.

"Guess I'll see ya tomorrow."

 **The Next Day**

Monday morning's first rays of sunlight pierced through the pale, translucent curtains adorning the windows of Mirajane's room. The dark, mahogany floorboards were illuminated in various places like a spotlight on a stage by the sun's rays while sounds of its occupant's soft breathing drifted out around the room.

Mirajane blearily opened her eyes, sitting up while yawning into the back of her hand. Her hands fell onto the smooth sheets of her bed which acted as a second layer over her white nightgown as her eyes wandered around her room. Her eyes didn't linger long on the pictures of her siblings lined up on her desk in frames and instead chose to clearly see just how lonely her room was.

Part of her believed that the funeral yesterday was just a bad dream but the heaviness in her muscles and the feeling that came after crying denied that possibility.

Lisanna was really gone.

Shaking her head while trying to avoid thinking about things that would only hurt, she tried to shift her attention elsewhere.

Outside her window, she could hear the early birds chirp as they flew past along with the chatter of the few pedestrians who had jobs to go to before noon.

TAP

Mirajane blinked at the strange and abrupt sound. There was a pause and just as she intended to chalk it up as a figment of her imagination, she heard the same noise yet again.

TAP

Her sapphire-blue eyes wandered over towards the source, her window. This time, she was able to see a third pebble bounce off the pane of her window. Swinging her legs over the side of her bed, Mirajane walked towards her window and pushed aside the curtain to allowing enough room for a small peek. Looking down, she was greeted to the sight of Fairy Tail's newest addition standing outside her home with a bright smile holding a large sign that said, "Help needed. Urgent".

Her face was expressionless as Mira sighed and released the curtain before climbing back into bed. She pulled the covers back over while turning her head away from the window.

TAP

Her eyes wearily opened as she grabbed her pillow and stuffed her head beneath it hoping to block out the sound. Maybe if she didn't answer, he'd believe she was still asleep.

TAP TAP

Needless to say, it didn't work. A look of annoyance crossed her countenance as Mirajane climbed out of bed and peeked through the curtains once more. Her scowl grew more noticeable upon noticing that the Uzumaki had apparently prepared another message on the other side of the sign.

"I saw you peek through the window, y'know" it read.

Mirajane unlatched the locks on her window before pushing the two open. The blond's grin grew after successfully drawing out Mira as he seemed all too cheerful at this time of day.

"Good morning!"

The eldest Strauss felt the slight chill of the morning and held onto the upper sections of her arms with her hands. She felt less pain when kept silent as it kept her emotions bottled up inside.

"Is there something you need?"

Her voice was quiet and hoarse, but if Naruto noticed then he didn't really care.

The shinobi blinked at the fact that he did not receive a "Good morning" in return before shrugging it off. He could easily tell that she was annoyed but as far as he was concerned it was better than being depressed. He flipped the sign around so that the first message was visible once more.

"As you can see, I'd like your help." He sheepishly chuckled.

"… I'm sorry, but Isn't there anyone else you can ask? I'm... not feeling very well today."

"The old man's pretty busy, Natsu and Happy took a job early this morning, and the same goes for Erza and Gray." Naruto replied counting off each person with his hand.

Mirajane sighed once more knowing that the whiskered newcomer had a valid reason for coming here, but she still was going to decline.

"I'm sorry Naruto, but I'm not in the mood so please leave."

"Yeaah, I don't think I can take no for an answer." Naruto nervously grinned scratching the back of his head. "It's kinda important."

The snow-haired beauty's eye twitched slightly. Dark bags beneath her eyes practically held the top of her eyelid to the bottom while she still couldn't find it in herself to go outside.

The buildings and corners that she would see would only remind her of the daily trek to the guildhall that she and her siblings always took together.

"I'm sorry, but the answer's still going to be no." She apologetically smiled.

Naruto's own grin faltered slightly seeing just how pained her smile was, but he wasn't going to give up either.

At Mirajane's declination, the blond mischief maker simply held up a sizable pile of pebbles, wearing an innocent smile the entire time.

"People call me persuasive."

Mirajane never wanted to be able to mute her surroundings more than she did now. Her hair and face were a mess, and put bluntly, she felt like complete crap.

She considered trying to ignore the shinobi's attempts at disturbing her sleep and solitude before deciding it would just be easier to help him and go home.

She simply closed her windows shut effectively blocking out the slightly estranged blond from sight.

Naruto stared at the closed window silently contemplating whether to start chucking pebbles again or to wait patiently.

Deciding on the latter, the shinobi sat on the edge of the pathway with his feet hanging over the town's canal while he simultaneously dumped his stack of pebbles into the water.

He waited for roughly five minutes when he heard the sound of a door opening behind him. Turning around, he saw that Mira had changed out of her white sleeping gown into a plain t-shirt and a pair of sweats. Her left arm was still being held within a cast slung over her shoulder while her hair, like the day before, had been left to hang freely with strands falling past her temples and covering her forehead.

Looking down at his own clothing comprised of a red flak jacket and a pair of black nylon pants, he noticed that he looked out of place in comparison to Earthland's standards for fashion.

"Huh, note to self. Remind me to buy some clothes when I have money..."

Ignoring his audible mental note, Mirajane directed her hollow stare towards the blond.

To the jinchuriki, her eyes resembled that of a dead fish; lifeless, empty, and devoid of emotion. His fist subconsciously tightened but the takeover mage didn't notice.

"What did you need my help for?"

"Ah, right."

Naruto began digging through his jacket and pant's pockets in search of something. His expression lit up when he pulled out a crumpled piece of paper that he handed to her.

With a raised brow, Mirajane uncrumpled the paper reading its contents allowed.

"Plans for Gravity Seal. Need to find a secluded area first so I don't blow up the entire tow—"

"OKAYY, wrong piece of paper. That one's on me." Naruto suddenly spoke up snatching the paper out of her grip while she confusedly stared at the teen.

She was promptly handed a new piece of paper that was practically identical in terms of material and pigment.

"Items needed from the market: tomatoes, carrots, potatoes, fresh chicken, onions, freshly prepared chicken..."

Mirajane's eyes wandered further and further down the list looking for anything out of the ordinary before she directed an unimpressed stare towards the unperturbed shinobi.

"This is a grocery list..."

"Mmhmm."

"And you came to me completely unannounced, holding a sign that said "Urgent" help, because you needed help shopping for groceries?"

The newcomer's nonchalant nod didn't help his disposition in the slightest.

"Yep. The place where I'm staying at needed me to go buy some food and I didn't want to be a freeloader, so here I am."

A sudden realization hit Mirajane after hearing Naruto's brief explanation. Where was the blond even staying? As far as she knew, he didn't have any family or friends in Magnolia.

She shook her head clearing her thoughts. It's not like she cared or that it mattered really.

"I know a couple of places we can go to close by."

Mira started to walk towards the edge of the street before Naruto suddenly called out to her.

"Hey, Mirajane."

She glanced over her shoulder to see the blue-eyed boy that was lagging slightly behind.

His finger scratched the side of his cheek, his persona appearing slightly bashful.

"Thanks... you really helped me out here."

Although she had only known him for a little over three days, there was something about Naruto's character that stuck out to Mirajane. The Uzumaki passed himself off as someone with strong morals and a straightforward personality that seemed to pull the people around him closer. He neither seemed like the type of person to take advantage of someone's kindness or make high-maintenance requests.

Rather, his requests somehow made others want to fulfill them.

Forced as it was, her faint smile served as more than a significant answer.

 **Magnolia's Shopping District**

Although the week had just began, the farmer's market stalls introduced various fresh produce brought from the different towns of the continent. The shouts of entrepreneurs echoed and overlapped with one another all declaring just how great their prices and products were.

"Get your fresh loaves of honey bread here! One-hundred jewels per loaf!"

"Basil Town's finest tomatoes over here! Freshest ones you'll find in Fiore!"

Walking side by side, Fairy Tail's newest member and senior S-Class mage maintained a brisk pace through the crowded street.

While Mirajane remained impervious to the bombardment of offers and deals, Naruto on the other hand... was not so tactful...

"Young man, you absolute must try these Barley Town apples! Have a sample!"

"Oh wow, this is really good! How much are they?"

"They're only three-hundred jewels per pound!"

"Great! I'll take fo—GAH!"

Standing beside Naruto with his cheek pinched between her fingers, Mirajane shifted her hollow stare towards the merchant who backed away almost immediately.

"Sorry, but we're not interested. Isn't that right, Naruto?"

The shinobi's cerulean orbs glanced to his side before he nervously laughed in response.

"A-Ah, yweah wight. Can you pwease wet go of my cheek now?"

Mirajane complied and released the Uzumaki's cheek before choosing to grab the sleeve of his shirt instead.

"It's like you're trying to make this harder than it needs to be." She blandly stated as she pulled him through the crowd. "Do you even have enough money to spend on anything that's not on the list you showed me?"

"Who knows?" The ninja grinned. "I only have what the old man gave me."

The whiskered teen pulled out a sack of coins before handing it to Mira for inspection. The mage opened the parcel doing a rough inspection before concluding it should be sufficient for what they were looking for.

"I'll hold onto this so you don't get distracted by any of the other merchants here."

The blond nodded giving his approval before stuffing his hands in his pockets while following closely behind her.

Finding the first potato stand on the bustling street, the pair's arrival to the stand was noticed by its boisterous owner.

The kind elderly woman gave a polite smile and wave before moving to tend to other customers swarming her stand.

"The list says a dozen so grab a twelve and let's move on."

The shinobi's eyes monitored her facial expression carefully as it shifted back into its blank state. A mischievous grin spread across his lips as a new idea came to mind.

"Okay, leave it to me!" Naruto energetically responded grabbing one of the shopping bags provided by the merchant. He then went to work finding his twelve potatoes.

Mirajane stood a good distance away, arms crossed and eyes closed in thought. She had finally gotten a momentary period of peace no matter how short it was.

Honestly, there had to be a limit to how helpless someone was when it came to shopping.

 _"Wowww, look at all the food they're selling, Mira! Do you think we should buy something for Elfman?"_

Mirajane's lips fell into tight-lipped frown while her left hand clenched itself tightly within its cast.

Memories of her first trip here with her little sister resurfaced as her eyes traveled around the numerous stalls and people. The merchants and their products hadn't really changed over the years. Looking beside her to where another person usually accompanied her, she found the spot empty.

"Hey, Mirajane check these out!"

Before her thoughts could darken any further, she was brought out of their inner reflection upon being greeted face to face with the boy who seemed like a representation of the sun in terms of brightness.

Her attention was drawn towards the sizable pile of potatoes he held cradled in his arms before her eyes promptly shifted into an expression that was a mix of unamusement and disbelief.

"Naruto..." She began as she grabbed one potato from his pile.

"Yes?"

"Please tell me how in the actual world you managed to pick the worst potatoes out of all of those. If the potato is green and soft..."

She demonstrated her point by squeezing the vegetable to the point her fingers made a temporary, yet visible indent.

"That means it wasn't grown properly and that it will probably taste bitter. The vegetables they sell here are usually always fresh, so again how did you even manage to find twelve of these...?"

Naruto innocently blinked at Mirajane's incredulity before looking down at the potatoes he had chosen.

"I just found them and thought they looked pretty good?"

Mirajane sighed before leading Naruto back to the stall where she immediately made him place the potatoes back onto the racks holding them.

Quickly and efficiently scanning over the selection, Mira's experienced eyes managed to pick out a dozen golden, brown potatoes that possessed a significantly more natural appearance than what Naruto had picked out.

Grabbing each potato one by one before placing it into the bag. The handed the old lady a few coins before giving the bag of potatoes back to Naruto.

She internally sighed hoping to get the shopping trip over and done with.

 **Somewhere in Magnolia**

Two hours had passed since they arrived to the farmer's market before the two Fairy Tail wizards, or rather wizard and shinobi, finally finished. It was now late in the afternoon with both of the teens walking back to wherever Naruto was leading them to.

"Man, I'm really grateful you were there to help me out!"

Speaking of which, the blond in question had a positively, bright smile on his whiskered features even as he carried three grocery bags in each hand filled to the brim with vegetables while one had meat.

"You... really don't go shopping at markets do you...?"

"Eh? What makes you say that?"

"When we went to shop for carrots, you picked the slimiest and squishiest carrots out of the entire bunch... When we went to pick out the onions, you picked out the ones that were practically falling apart... And to top it all off, you managed to find nine of each one in a fresh market..."

"Haha, I am pretty skilled aren't I?" Naruto grinned at Mirajane's look of doubt.

The snow-haired mage sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose.

"You have everything now don't you? I'll see you around."

As she turned around to leave, she was suddenly stopped when a hand clasped onto her shoulder. She glanced around to see two cerulean blue eyes and a small smile being directed towards her.

"The place I'm heading to is that building over there." Naruto said pointing to an area that lied just behind a wall. "Can you come with me for a bit?"

Mirajane sighed in response before speaking. "Naruto, I—"

"It'll only be for a bit and if you don't want to stay than you can leave."

She just wanted to be alone. Mira lowered her crestfallen gaze to the ground, her eyes covered by the strands of her hair. She didn't want to talk to anyone. She didn't want to be near anyone. All she wanted was to be alone, safe within the confines of her room.

Every street, every building, and every person she saw around town only served to remind her of her sister, and with every reminder came a painful stab of pain in her chest.

The three of them, Elfman, Lisanna, and herself, had come to this town together. Growing up without parents had always been a rough experience, but they had gotten through it with the support of each other.

Eventually, Magnolia had finally become a home to them while the people at Fairy Tail had become their family.

Now with Lisanna gone it was as if a large hole had been torn open in her heart. Looking at her broken arm, Mira doubted she could go on jobs even IF her arm healed. With each passing day, she could feel her magic slipping away, as if it were water pouring out of a leak in a tank.

"—irajane!"

She lightly gasped realizing that she had been completely oblivious to Naruto repeatedly calling out her name. She turned around and saw the eccentric teen take on a look of worry.

"Hey, are you okay?"

"Y-Yeah, I'm fine." Mira answered as she shrugged off Naruto's hand on her shoulder. "Sorry, I just had something on my mind."

The shinobi's troubled stare made it blatantly clear that he didn't believe her. In an attempt to ease his suspicions, the ivory-haired takeover mage sought to change the subject.

"O-Oh, yeah. Didn't you say the place we were heading to is just around the corner?"

Although his hands were both holding a handful of groceries, the jinchuriki crossed his arms over his chest, a hint of concern lacing the corners of his eyes.

"Are you sure?"

Seeing her hastily nod in the affirmative, the reincarnation of Asura led her to the entrance to the area behind the wall.

Looking over the wall, the Strauss sister's expression turned into that of surprise upon recognizing the building as a local church.

The church was surrounded by a grayish-stone wall that appeared to have been cleaned recently. Engraved over its iron barred gates was a cross matching the sculpted version that had been placed on the church's roof. The building itself looked aged in comparison to the newer structures in Magnolia, yet it still maintained an image of fortitude and endurance.

"I'm back!" Naruto called out as he kicked open the gates before letting himself inside.

As Mirajane followed behind him, the two of them were greeted by an elderly priest dressed in rather colorful garments along with tall papal hat. The man emitted an aura of warmth and generosity as he chuckled heartily at the youth's eccentric entrance.

"Welcome back, Naruto. I trust that you were able to buy the ingredients for tonight?"

Upon entering, Mira's gaze had wandered around and observed its surroundings. From the dusty ground to the patches of grass, the church possessed a rarely found tranquil atmosphere.

The shinobi apologetically grinned holding up the bags of groceries. "To be honest, I would have had a little trouble without Mirajane's help here."

Father Brock's sincerity-filled eyes shifted towards Mira as the man lowered his head in thanks.

"You have my thanks as well, young one."

"Ah, it really wasn't much." Mirajane immediately responded waving her hands for emphasis.

At that moment, Mira's attention was drawn towards the sight of a new arrival who emerged from the inside of the church. The familiar head of striking blond hair and ocean blue eyes were too similar to mistaken for anyone else.

"Oh, you're finally back?" The new arrival spoke as Mirajane's eyes slowly widened.

She blinked once. She blinked twice. She even closed and rubbed her eyes for good measure as she looked to the blond standing next to her and what seemed like his identical twin in front of them.

Knowing the exact feeling Mirajane was experiencing, Brock chuckled in mirth while the two Narutos observed a frenzied Mira with barely concealed amusement.

"H-How? What—Why— I mean—How are there two of you?!"

"Hey, Boss where should I put these?" The newly revealed clone holding the groceries asked, while presently ignoring Mirajane's mindblown state.

The original Naruto that had been in the church for the entirety of the day took the vegetables from his copy's hands before directing his head towards the complex's courtyard.

"For now can you go help the others with the kids? I'll go set up in the kitchen."

"You got it!"

As the clone ran off to find his fellow brethren, Father Brock spun back around to head back into the church.

"I'm going to check up on how your other selves are progressing with the repairs. Once again, thank you for your help."

"Nah, don't mention it. I wouldn't have a place to stay if it weren't for you, old man."

The partner of the Kyuubi waved goodbye to the priest before finally turning to address a shell-shocked Mirajane. The girl's jaw was slightly dropped while her eyes were wide with shock. A few strands of her hair seemed to be sticking out perfectly defining just how flustered she was.

Motioning for her to come closer, his trademark grin didn't seem bothered by how unnerved she was after seeing just one of his clones.

He didn't blame her really. Although the technique wasn't commonly used in the Elemental Nations, its reputation had been so vast and widespread that there wasn't a single shinobi who didn't know of it.

On the other hand after asking Father Brock about any similar magic, the closest thing that existed to the Shadow Clone technique in this world was something called a Thought Projection and even then it was extraordinarily limited in application.

"Come on in. I could use the extra help." The jinchuriki spoke garnering Mirajane's attention.

Returning back to Earthland, the ivory-haired woman finally regained her sense of speech managing to articulate just how confused she was.

"Hold it, are you not going to explain what the hell that was?"

Watching her wildly gesture towards the direction his clone headed off to, the shinobi chuckled before leaning his back against the door frame.

"I don't mind answering some questions as long as you help me make some food for these kids. I could always use a fourth set of hands."

"Fourth?" Mira confusedly repeated.

"Ah-ah-ah, help first then questions later."

Albeit reluctantly, the eldest Strauss nodded agreeing to the whiskered boy's terms and followed him inside. Upon entering through the main door, Mirajane's facial expression immediately changed to one of surprise seeing five other clones interacting alongside at least a dozen children with ages varying from six to twelve.

After turning around the corner and entering an opening within the stone and plaster wall, Mira found a courtyard on the left side of the church's building. It was a wide and open space with a couple trees strewn about yet with children everywhere.

Performing a rough headcount, the S-Class wizard found at least one clone accompanying each group of three kids. The multiple copies played games like freeze tag and hide and seek with the younger kids, joyful laughter melodiously resounding along with the sight like a symphony.

Even she couldn't stop the small smile that spread across her lips at the sight.

Standing on the church's roof, another set of five clones were shouting out orders to one another as they took apart old, moldy boards from the roof before replacing them fresh new ones.

"I didn't know you were so devoted to the church here..." Mirajane sweatdropped watching the clones work with flair and vigor.

"Oh, I'm not a member of the church."

Naruto paused to let that sink in right before Mirajane's gaze snapped towards Naruto almost immediately.

"Come again?" She spoke in disbelief.

Naruto sheepishly laughed while scratching the side of his cheek with his left index finger.

"I was actually wandering around town when the old man here saw me and decided to let me stay for the night. I noticed that a lot of parts here were starting to wear out so I made an agreement to help out around here in exchange for a place to sleep."

Arriving to their destination, Naruto stepped through the door into a building next to the courtyard with Mirajane in tow. The building was a large kitchen with a rectangular table in the center while the surrounding areas had ovens, stoves, and various kitchen utensils lining the walls.

"I'm ba—OOF!"

Almost immediately after they entered, Mirajane had to step to the side to avoid Naruto from toppling over her.

Standing safely to the side, Mirajane found the reason for the blond's fall lying on top of said blond.

"Yay~, you're back!"

Lying down on top of his chest was a small girl who appeared to be no older than eleven with dark brown hair tied over her shoulder in a single ponytail and bright violet eyes.

"Geez, Hina stop tackling Naruto when you see him." A male voice chided.

Joining the group was a boy with coral-pink hair, sharp yellow eyes, and a pair of glasses. He appeared to be at least one year older than his friend yet maintained an air of maturity in contrast.

"But this one's the real one, Shino!"

The boy sighed out of a sense of resignation before he noticed an unfamiliar face.

"Hm? Who are you?"

With two pairs of eyes on Mirajane, the shinobi on the ground decided to speak up for her.

"Mirajane meet my two helpers. The overly responsible stick-in-the-mud over there is Shinomiya Kojiro. He usually handles the cooking and preparations for old man Brock."

Ignoring Kojiro annoyed glare, the Uzumaki carried on with the introductions as he looked down on the girl who was currently nuzzling her face into his shirt. He sighed before he pulled both of her face's cheeks lifting it up to face his.

"Gah~!"

"And the little troublemaker right here is Hinako Inui. She's his assistant chef."

"Heey, I don't cwause twouble!"

Naruto and Kojiro's simultaneous disbelieving stares proved her argument otherwise.

"Mwost of da time?"

Releasing her cheeks, Naruto sighed and ruffled her hair playfully, Hinako enjoying the gesture immensely.

"You're lucky you're endearing, y'know?"

When Hinako was going to respond, she suddenly stopped noticing the presence of an attractive lady in the room and effectively clammed up.

"Anyway, these two have apparently been cooking for the orphanage since they got here, so I think they'll be able to handle the work."

Kojiro crossed his arms over his chest while adjusting his glasses so that they sat on the bridge of his nose.

"If anything, I'm more worried that this vagrants going to mess something up." He stated, fully directing his comment towards Naruto.

The ninja simply grinned as he lifted a petulantly sulking Hinako off of him. "Anyway, I know you three will get along so let's get started!"

"OI! Can you really not cook?!" Kojiro shouted.

Kojiro groaned and sighed muttering something about a freeloading hobo before holding his hand out towards Mira.

"Nice to meet you, Mirajane. You can call me, Shino."

Clasping the hand, the snow-haired beauty shook hands with intelligent youth.

"Likewise and just Mira is fine."

Kojiro nodded before crossing his arms over his chest while directing a bland glare towards the girl who currently standing awestruck in front of Mira.

"Hinako, do I need to remind you that it's rude not to introduce yourself and it's even more rude to stare at guests."

True to his words, Hinako was indeed staring at no one other than Mirajane. Violet eyes bore onto sapphire as tiny hands reached out and balled themselves tightly while her grip on Naruto's shirt tightened.

"Hey, Naruto..." She called out still staring at a slightly perturbed Mirajane.

The blond poked Hinako's cheek yet did not earn a response in the slightest. Somewhat unsettled as well, he responded with a hint of hesitation in his tone. "Um... Yes?"

Hinako's head whirled towards Naruto while literal stars flashed in her eyes.

"THAT LADY'S SUPER PRETTY! IS SHE YOUR GIRLFRIEN—KYA!"

Before she could finish her question, she was promptly flicked on the forehead by the whiskered world traveler who lifted her off of himself.

"Hina..." Naruto began in a manner similar to a scolding parent. "Don't be rude and Introduce yourself properly."

Seeing the unyielding stare directed towards her, Hinako bowed out and conceded. She looked towards an entertained Mirajane before lowering her head in apology.

"… Hinako Inui..."

"That's better." Naruto said as he dusted himself off. He picked up the groceries he had set down prior to being tackled and moved them to the large island table in the center of the kitchen.

"Alright, Shino and Hina can you guys take care of the onions and carrots?"

"Yep! Leave it to us~" Hinako confidently answered flashing Naruto a grin and thumbs up.

Naruto's expectant gaze shifted towards Kojiro who nodded readily. "And I'll make sure she doesn't blow up the kitchen and us with it."

Expression utterly serious, Naruto gave Kojiro a thumbs up as well. "Yosh, I leave it to you, Shino."

"You guys are so mean!"

Kojiro chuckled before pushing Hina along towards the second sink in the kitchen while carrying the bags of carrots and onions with him. "Yeah, yeah, let's go Hina."

"And make sure you guys wash your hands!" Naruto called out as they left.

"And what will our job be?" Mirajane asked while sliding a hair tie off of her wrist. She used the band to tie her hair up in a ponytail behind her head as a precaution to avoid any accidents in the kitchen.

Hefting the large sack of potatoes onto the counter, Naruto began to put them into a large collective bowl.

"Our job will be washing and skinning the potatoes." He answered before moving to the sink and washing his hands.

"Looking at the ingredients on the table, I'm guessing we're going to be making curry rice for the kids?" Mirajane asked as she followed after Naruto to wash her own hands.

"Yep, I'm not exactly a great cook, but I won't let you beat me." Naruto challengingly grinned.

As Mirajane picked up the skinner and held it in her hand, a particular fragment of a memory resurfaced in her mind.

" _I challenge you to a cooking showdown, Mira-nee!_ "

Mirajane softly smiled before grabbing the first potato to start.

"Just watch me."

 **A Couple Hours Later**

"It's so good!"

"Thank you, Naruto!

"Seconds please!"

After finishing the cooking, Naruto's clones had used some of the spare wood from roof reparations to build a large picnic table that managed to fit at least ten people on each side. Each row was packed with children all eating the homemade meal from small bowls thanks to Naruto, Mira, Shino, and Hinako.

Father Brock stood by the food table managing servings while making sure each child got to eat.

Sitting away from the table, Naruto and Mirajane watched with empty bowls sitting in their laps as they sat next to each other while leaning on one of the courtyard's trees.

"Man, you really know your way around a kitchen." Naruto said with a sigh of satisfaction. "It's my loss."

Looking over to his left side, he saw Mirajane staring into her empty dish, quietly stirring in her own thoughts.

"If you have any questions you'd like to ask, I'll gladly answer them. A promise is a promise, y'know?"

Resting his hands behind his head, the shinobi relaxed into the almost nostalgic feeling of cool bark pressed against his skin.

Mirajane's head rose up and looked towards the lackadaisical blond before recalling her question from earlier in the day.

"T-Then, can you tell me how you made those copies of yourself? I've never seen anything like that before."

"It's called the Shadow Clone technique." Naruto smiled in reminiscence. "And right now it's an ability unique to me alone."

"You alone?" Mirajane curiously repeated. "What do you mean by that?"

Calm blue eyes drifting towards the gently flowing leaves, the ninja smiled in amusement deciding to regale the girl with slightly altered tales of the truth.

"Well, Mirajane, I guess you could say I'm a little bit different than the average mage. The place where I came from had a lot of skills like the ones you guys have here, but there are a lot of different ones as well."

"I see." Mira quietly murmured after deciding to accept the rather ambiguous response. "Also why do you always call me Mirajane?"

Naruto tilted his head, slightly confused, and adopted an expression curiosity. "What do you mean?"

"You always use my full name when no one else does. It would be a lot easier to call me Mira instead."

"I see." The blond faintly chuckled. "Well then Mira, do you have anything else you want to ask?"

As Mirajane thought about it, there had always been one particular question that had constantly tugged on the edges of her mind. It had come up time and time again whenever she ran into the Uzumaki, yet she could never figure out its answer.

"Why?"

It was a single word but with a limitless amount of answers. She had neither yelled the word nor did she mumble it. It was short, clear, and easily heard.

"Why what?" Naruto repeated slightly unsettled at the sudden and abstruse question.

"Why are you doing all this? Walking me home, asking me to help you with things like shopping, trying to show me someplace like this? What are you trying to do?"

There was a hint of anxiousness and desperation laced into her tone, a stark contrast to the jinchuriki's unchanging and calm demeanor.

"It's easy really. I'm just fulfilling a promise."

"Promise?"

"What do you mean by that?" Mira asked caught off guard by the cryptic answer. "Whose promise are you fulfilling?"

She felt a sudden pang of pain within her chest at the thought that he was only doing this out of a sense of obligation, at the very thought that he wouldn't have bothered talking to her if someone hadn't asked him to.

"Who asked you to do this...?" The snow-haired woman despondently murmured, eyes covered by the fringe of her hair..

"Someone who cares about you." The shinobi tenderly smiled.

The successor of the Sage placed a hand on Mirajane's shoulder. For the young mage, as soon as the blond's hand made contact she felt her surroundings completely shift.

In one moment she felt the support of the old tree behind her and heard the continuous laughter of the church orphanage's children, and the next everything had changed.

The presence of the tree faded away in the blink of an eye as if it never existed. The sounds of the kids and merriment were gone, and in their place settled an eerie silence.

Mirajane Strauss was no longer in church's courtyard. She was no longer anywhere near Magnolia in fact.

Standing up while sweeping her gaze over her new surroundings, her eyes widened as the familiarity and significance of the place dawned upon her. The handiwork of the small, straw hut couldn't have been mistaken for anyone else's besides hers.

Along with the grave engraved with her name...

"I once had a friend who I considered to be my brother in everything but blood."

Mirajane suddenly stiffened remembering the person who had somehow and some way brought her here.

She turned and watched as the person she previously thought she knew more about than anyone at the guild approach the beautifully made grave and crouch down in front of it. His voice carried over the mountain like a calming wind after a storm and the tenderness he exhibited could match even the sun with its warmth.

"He was arrogant, annoying, and a total pain in the neck." Naruto chuckled in remembrance. "But he was still the person I considered my best friend."

The Uzumaki's eyes gained a tinge of regret and heaviness as the image of his worn and bloody teammate appeared in his mind.

"However, one day the village gave his older brother a mission that resulted in the deaths of their entire family. The person who I thought was my friend lost himself to his grief and became obsessed with his revenge. He lost his entire family and was swallowed up by his pain eventually leaving him trapped in the dark."

Standing to his full height, he walked towards Mirajane until he was no more than a few steps away. His features, kind and full of life, were face to face with her stunned disposition.

"I made a promise to myself that I never wanted to see anyone else suffer like he did. And..." He looked back at the grave made by Lisanna's closest friend, its splendidly crafted details basking in the warmth of the sun. "I also made a promise to Lisanna that I would make sure you didn't give up being a wizard, too."

Mira's honest sapphire-blue eyes revealed their astonishment as her jaw slightly fell in sheer wonder.

"You... You knew I'm losing my magic...?"

"Haha, I can't take credit for that." Naruto good-naturedly grinned. "Erza's the one who noticed."

"Erza?" Mirajane asked with visible bewilderment.

Naruto nodded before speaking again. "She doesn't want to lose a precious rival and friend."

Mirajane bit the bottom of her lip while her right arm moved to cradle her broken left. Her eyes looked lost and dim, refusing to meet his own.

"I... I don't want to endanger or get anyone else killed ever again." She quietly muttered choking back a hiccup. "I'm don't want to be a mage that will only get the people close to her hurt..."

"I know you don't."

Mirajane inclined her head upwards as two hands placed themselves on her shoulders. Coming face to face with a pair of the most fervent and animated ocean-blue eyes, she found herself lost in the face of just how certain the tone of the shinobi's voice was.

"But I won't let you quit. I may have not been able to meet Lisanna, but I know for sure that she wouldn't want her older sister to blame herself and live like this."

Tears gathered at the corners of the silver-haired mage's eyes while her hands balled themselves tightly. Her entire frame started to shake as it held itself from falling apart altogether.

"But I—!"

" _Mira-nee!_ "

A recollection from four years ago, only a couple days after they had left their village, arose within Mirajane's memories.

 **Four Years Ago**

 _"Mira-nee, what's wrong?"_

 _A younger Lisanna, bright blue eyes filled with pure curiosity, stood in front of her older sister who was currently sitting on an old stump in the forest they were venturing through._

 _Mirajane had hidden herself away in a overly large cloak as if to hide her existence away from the outside world. Beneath the opening in the front of the garment, one demonic right arm rested on her leg._

 _Not receiving a response from her sister, Lisanna placed her hands on her hips while her expression adopted a pouting manner._

 _"Take this!"_

 _"Ouch! What the heck, Lisanna?"_

 _Mirajane used her right hand to hold her left shoulder that had been the victim of Lisanna's pinch. She had been stewing in her own thoughts when, out of the blue, her baby sister decided to pinch her shoulder for no apparent reason!_

 _Grinning proudly with a triumphant air about her, Lisanna stood tall and proud... well as tall as a kid her age could stand._

 _"Don't you see, Mira-nee?"_

 _Slightly annoyed, Mirajane grumpily directed a small glare towards the little girl. "See what?"_

 _Pointing her small finger directly into her face, Lisanna spoke with a voice of pride and liveliness._

 _"A monster wouldn't have been fazed by my attack, but you still said "Ouch"!"_

 _Her cute sister was practically sparkling with a shining gleam in her eyes, fully believing in the fact that she was right._

 _At the moment, she still had control over her body, but it still didn't reassure her in the slightest. It was only a matter of when— not if— she fully turned into a demon. Mirajane lowered her head in self-deprecation, idly touching the scales upon her right hand. She was afraid._

 _"That's only for now, Lisanna. What if I really do turn into a monster and hurt you or Elfman?"_

 _Lisanna smiled brightly and held her sister's cheeks with her significantly smaller hands. Mushing together Mirajane's face to the point it looked too funny not to laugh, Lisanna answered her sister's worries with her most honest answer._

 _"Even if you hurt me or Elfman, we'll both forgive you. You're our big sister and neither of us want you to give up, so promise."_

 _Face still being held by her little sister, Mirajane gave Lisanna a questioning stare in response. "Pwomise what?"_

 _Eyes fully serious despite holding Mirajane in a rather ridiculous manner, Lisanna brought her face even closer so that Mirajane could practically see the resolve burning in her eyes._

 _"Promise that you won't give up on yourself, no matter what or else I won't let you go!"_

 _Sighing audibly, Mirajane softly smiled and nodded. She pulled her sister's hands off of her face, so that she could wrap her up in a hug surprising even Lisanna._

 _"Alright, alright, you win. It's a promise, Lisanna."_

 **Now**

As he held onto her shoulders, all of a sudden Naruto felt the shaking in Mirajane's arms and legs cease on its own. Adopting an expression of confusion, his facial features immediately changed into that of unadulterated surprise upon being hugged by Mirajane who wrapped her one good arm around him.

Feeling a slight burning in his cheeks, the whiskered shinobi tried his best to make sure that he wasn't aggravating her injury in any way.

"H-Hey Mira, what's wrong? Are you oka—"

"If..." Mirajane slowly began.

Naruto blinked, repeating the same word she had mumbled. "If?"

"If you and Lisanna met, I think you two would be good friends." Mirajane finished murmuring into his shirt.

Releasing the shell-shocked and stunned Naruto, Mirajane's gaze matched the Uzumaki's with a newly found hope radiating within it.

"Hey, what would you have done if I decided to stop being a mage anyway?"

Naruto scratched the back of his head as he hadn't fully thought out what he would have done if she did say no.

"Well... I probably would've grabbed my pebbles back from the river and restarted at square one." The jinchuriki blinked coming to the realization of what Mirajane's words had meant. "Wait, does this mean..."

Smiling brightly before he could finish his sentence, Mirajane bowed her head in a manner similar to that of a student.

"It means I'll be in your care... Naruto."

 **Alright sorry for the delay but I've come to a realization. Writing non-canon stuff is a hell of a lot more difficult than canon stuff since there's no "framework" to organize your ideas around. This doesn't mean I'll have an issue with it, I'm just saying it'll just take me longer to do. Anyway please leave a review on the way out.**

 **Again, I know people hate reading author's notes so if they didn't see the one at the top, go read the new section talking about multi-pairings and harems on my profile.**

 **This is a bit of an in-depth explanation behind this chapter for those of you who care, so those who don't can just skip this part.**

 **As I'm sure all of us can attest to, readers and writers, we have ALL read (or written) a story on this site where the main character and his love interest undergo a "fall in love at first sight" in a single paragraph.**

 **Okay, sure, I could (like the previous version) write the main character and his interest falling in love in a single paragraph, but that doesn't have the same impact or meaning to it in comparison to ACTUALLY writing out. For example imagine if I just wrote this entire chapter into a paragraph detailing how over a span of six or something months, Naruto stood by Mirajane's side and she eventually developed a crush on him.**

 **Seriously, you'd have to be ridiculously naive to not see any issues with this.**

 **Anyway, that pretty much sums up what I have to say on that. A few people have asked me to make this a multi pairing and if you are one of those people, then I'd recommend you moving to my profile where I will also state my thoughts and opinion on multi-pairings or harems.**


	4. First Mission

CH4: First Mission

Person/Human talking

 _Person/Human thinking_

 **Demon talking**

 _ **Demon thinking**_

 _ **Technique name**_

 **I don't own anything including the cover art**

 **Magnolia's Forest**

Flowing through the dense forest like a blue vein, Magnolia's river was a portrayal of peace and calm.

The peaceful sounds of chirping birds and the gentle whispers of the wind flowed through the forest like a river, encompassing the forest and its occupants within an ambience of tranquility.

 _ **BWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM**_

Before it was promptly destroyed by the echoing reverberations of an explosion.

The early morning crows screeched as they rapidly scattered away from the source of the eruption.

Running across the river flowing through the forest at near impossible speeds, a spiky haired youth traversed the heavy forest as if it was by second nature.

Defying the laws of physics, he ran across the surface of the river at a breakneck pace passing the muddy, riparian banks and tall cattails growing near them. The almost rhythmic sounds of his footsteps impacting the watery surface with tiny splashes were the only echoes haunting the eerily, quiet forest as he jumped over a stone jutting out of the river.

His senses screaming out to him, Naruto Uzumaki performed a mid-air flip dodging an explosive shot of magic that blew apart the area he previously stood sending splatters of water up into the air.

The shot had been so potent that it had left the space temporarily unoccupied forcing the river to refill the empty patch.

" _She's gotten better._ " He inwardly mused, the attempted attack not deterring his run in the slightest.

Not long after, the "she" the shinobi was referring to appeared before him in a matter of seconds.

Jet, black bat-like wings sprouted from her upper back while an undulating crocodile tail was moments away from slamming into his face much like a bullwhip. Her hands were covered in scales while her fingers were frighteningly sharp. Mirajane Strauss's long silvery hair jutted upwards defying gravity while her typically passive blue eyes glimmered with a purple tint.

"It's good that you're able to use Takeover again, but..."

Naruto dropped to his knees sliding across the water's surface while allowing the demonic tail to harmlessly pass by mere inches away from his nose. As soon as he had avoided the ligament, he pushed himself off of his knees and back onto his feet, pivoting on his right foot to turn around. Efficiently wrapping his left arm over her wings cutting off her means of escape, he solidified his hold by using his right arm to hold a glowing kunai to her throat.

"You've still got a long way to go before you can beat me. Lesson one my faithful student, always watch your back."

Naruto's confident grin faded away upon seeing the corners of Mirajane's lips tugged upwards in amusement.

"I think you should take your own lessons into consideration, _sensei_."

With the slight motion of her index finger alone, a sphere of purple demonic energy that had been left floating above the forest propelled itself directly into the shinobi's back.

Mira felt the hold on her wings loosen as she used her wings to blow back her captor the moment her magic collided with the mercenary.

Gaining a couple feet in distance away, she carefully regarded the plume of smoke waiting for it to fade away. As the gray, ashen smoke cleared up, she was met with the sight of the shinobi's unconscious body floating face down on the calm ministrations of the river.

Sighing to herself in relief, she undid her Takeover returning to her human appearance. Her training attire consisted of a black tank-top and shorts that hugged her shapely body quite well providing her both with flexibility and movement. Her hair had been tied into an upwards ponytail to keep it from interfering with her training finishing her appearance.

Wading through the opposing river that was knee high in depth, she reached her "teacher" and scanned over him warily.

"Looks like this is my first win." she spoke with a tone of finality.

As she reached down to pick up Naruto before he drowned, her elation was short-lived as his body blew up in a cloud of smoke.

Eyes widening as the realization hit her like a truck, Mirajane didn't have enough time to counter what happened next.

Several popping sounds occurred close by until five similar clones surrounded her. Not wasting a breath, numerous chains burst from each clones' hands seizing her hands, ankles, and waist.

A fifth Naruto approached from behind her, morphing the chain in his hand into the shape of an ethereal, glowing knife, and held it next to the side of her neck.

"Of course I take my own lessons into consideration. I wouldn't be the sensei otherwise, _student_."

If he were to be honest, Naruto couldn't deny that he was having fun. Although he had promised to help her regain her strength, he was having just as much fun messing around in fights like this. Back in the Elemental Nations, there were never really any chances to fight against his friends in the Konoha 11 or 12 if you included a certain Uchiha.

Everyone belonged to different teams that ventured out of the village on missions at completely random times. In fact, injuring someone even by accident could have serious repercussions if they were needed for an important mission.

All battles and spars against shinobi posed significant danger that could end someone's life if there was an accident, but in Earthland it was different.

Although their techniques and abilities were dangerous, it was practically child's play countering them. He finally understood what Kakashi must have felt like training numerous amounts of Genin squads.

Defeat was an ambiguous word with a multitude of meanings. It didn't necessarily mean to kill but at the same time it didn't mean to spare a life either.

For the mages of Earthland, the word defeat meant to fight and disable. Killing was strictly forbidden by this world's government according to Mirajane and doing so could result in prison or in worst cases execution.

Naruto supposed this was why he was able to treat nearly everyone around him as a non-threat because back in his former world defeat meant something else. To defeat meant to either kill or leave barely breathing until a target's usefulness had expired. Although it was the former shinobi mentality, he had still been taught the olden ways at the academy before reforms could take over.

Of course he was never one to kill indiscriminately, that didn't change the fact he knew perfectly well that there were some minds that could not be swayed no matter what.

Every mage in Fairy Tail was rather harmless in comparison to him which made teasing them so damn fun.

Mirajane sighed, this time with an underlying tone of annoyance. "Damn it, fine you win."

Just like that, the chains keeping her tightly bound released her while each clone cheekily waved good-bye before dispersing into thin air.

Mirajane rubbed her wrists mindful of the marks left by the chains from tightly constricting her before directing an unpleased glare towards their owner.

"How?" She blandly asked.

"I disguised myself as rocks in the river and waited to lure you here." Was his swift reply.

The blond had nonchalantly answered her question before walking back towards land. Following behind, Mirajane groaned as she pinched the temples upon her forehead as an even bigger headache started to arrive.

"So I fell for another one of your traps _again_?"

Feet now on earth, the Uzumaki started his trek back to the area they had set up camp in with the Strauss glaring daggers at his deceptively "undefended" back.

"Y'know at this point I'm thinking of keeping a score just to see how much I can mess with you in training." The shinobi grinned placing his hands behind his head. "How many times have I beaten you again?"

"I don't remember." Mirajane muttered crossing her arms beneath her chest.

"Well, I've beaten you at least one-hundred times."

"Not even close! It's 9 to 0!" Mira immediately interjected.

A shiver traveled up her spine as the blond glanced over his shoulder with the same damnable teasing glint in his eyes. Spending one week training with the insufferable teen allowed her to practically predict what came next.

"So you did remember~"

Just because she knew it was coming didn't make it any less irritating.

Speeding up, Mira soon left behind a laughing Naruto, a slightly reddened face due to the embarrassment of being so easily baited.

Jogging to catch up to her, Naruto good-naturedly wrapped his arm over her shoulder in a friendly manner with his need for teasing thoroughly satisfied.

"Anyhow, you've improved a lot since you first started, y'know?"

There it was again Mira idly noted. She found that the blond had a habit of saying "y'know" quite often. It was kind of similar to how Natsu would always say how fired up he was, except in this case it was slightly less annoying... there was a _very_ small gap between the two.

Sighing before shrugging his arm off of her shoulder, she unenthusiastically maintained her trek back to their training area.

"How do you figure that? I haven't beaten you a single time since we started last week."

"Simple, do you know how long our fight lasted?"

Mira's eyebrow slightly arose at the question before shrugging once more. "I don't know, about forty-five minutes give or take."

"Close enough, and do you know how long it was yesterday?"

Mirajane's features slightly scrunched up in thought before finding answer. "About fifteen minutes?"

"Do you see a pattern?"

Mirajane stopped in the middle of the dirt path directing a look that said. "What are you getting at?" towards Naruto's expectant features before the reason finally dawned upon her.

"I fought you longer in my Takeover today than I did yesterday..."

Seeing Naruto's foxlike grin indicating she was correct, Mirajane remembered that she had only lost yesterday due to the fact that she couldn't manage to maintain her takeover.

Today however, she was released it of her own volition and she even felt that she could've held onto it even longer.

"I was hoping to see how long you could hold on to it today, but I didn't attack you soon enough." Naruto sighed in disappointment as he continued to walk while withdrawing a book and pen.

"You sound _way_ too disappointed." Mira blandly stated as she stared at his departing back while following not too far behind. She noticed that he seemed to be drawing something in his book.

Naruto's head glanced over his shoulder, ocean blue eyes emitting childlike genuineness.

"Of course I am. In one day, you're now able to hold onto your transformation for more than twice as long as the day before. The rate you're growing at is incredible, so why wouldn't I want to see how much further you can go?"

In Naruto's mind, Mirajane's training and abilities highly reminded him of his own. He had spent years in training trying to use Kurama's power, and was met with very little success. She and Elfman's use of Takeover to draw on their respective inner souls' powers were highly reminiscent to that of the jinchuriki's.

" **It's not that hard to keep a demonic hatchling under control, brat. I could have squashed the demons of this world right after being born and I doubt that even you would be taken over by a hatchling back when you were a kid.** "

" _… Are you complimenting me?_ "

Hearing the derisive snort of his partner, the shinobi internally chuckled cracking a small smile on his features.

" _I know what you mean furball, but compared to me back then I could barely even hold your first transformation for more than ten minutes without ending up in a hospital afterwards."_

" **If you look at it that way, I guess you can say that she-devil's progress is quite remarkable from your standpoint."** The great fox bemused.

"… _Are you insulting me now?_ "

"Hey, I've been meaning to ask you this, but what have you been drawing these past few days?" Mirajane suddenly asked drawing the blond out of his inner thoughts.

Her curious blue eyes looked over the significantly taller teen's shoulder as he drew foreign markings and intricate circles. Over the past week, she had noticed the jinchuriki drawing in a notebook that he had procured from a local shop along with a pen. She couldn't make out the language he was writing in for the life of her or distinguish just what the drawings were supposed to symbolize.

"They're a surprise." Naruto grinned with a hint of mischief as he put the book into his red and black jacket's inner pocket.

Mirajane frowned at the vague response as they finally reached their main training area. Her frown grew more prominent upon seeing a distinctive head of scarlet hair waiting for them.

Erza Scarlet, the Titania, sat upon a log being used as a makeshift fireside bench with one leg crossed over the other while her hazel brown eyes drifted over towards the pair she had been waiting for.

Over the past week, she had neither seen Fairy Tail's newest member nor her own rival. After asking Makarov, she learned that there was a rumor going around that the Fairy's rookie was training the S-Class mage in the Eastern Forest.

She thought back to their heated but _very_ brief spar back when he had first arrived and found herself perplexed. She did not consider herself to be vain, but as an S-Class mage she knew that she was a recognizable icon among Fiore.

However, someone who managed to best her in combat with his bare hands and a knife so abruptly arrived at Fairy Tail's doorstep, and no one had ever heard of him to this day. According to his words, he had been a freelance mercenary who maintained a low profile, but it just wasn't logically possible for someone of his caliber to remain concealed from the public eye for so long.

Therefore, she had decided to confront the boy to learn more about his origins herself. It wasn't hard to find their training site considering the vast amount of magic she recognized as Mira's being thrown about.

Coming from Naruto on the other hand, she felt nothing. She had not felt one speck of etherano being used by the stranger only adding to the shroud of mystery that surrounded him.

This brought her to her second goal. Challenging the blond to a rematch in order to determine just what type of abilities he held as the newcomer and her rival now stood in front of her.

"Good morning, Naruto, Mira."

"Morning, Erza!" Was Naruto's cheerful and immediate reply as he sat down on the log across from her.

"Morning, Meathea— Erza." Mira had almost regressed to her usual way of greeting her rival, but managed to catch her "slip" before smiling innocently while sitting beside her sparring partner.

Although she was given a slight glare from Erza, Mira huffed and looked away refusing to acknowledge the irritating woman's presence.

Following her rival's example, Erza redirected her attention towards the amused blond who watched the exchange from up close before noticing Erza's rather intense stare.

"So is there something I can help you with?"

Revisiting memories from the previous week of Naruto's first arrival, Erza remembered their previous bout and its rather humiliating result.

Coughing into her metal gloves, she placed her hands on her hips adopting an act of casual amiability and impassiveness.

"Ehem, I had heard you were training in the forest from the Master, and I wanted to join you as I feel that I can learn much from a fellow S-Class."

"S-Class? What's an—"

"No way."

Naruto had intended to ask what she meant by "fellow S-Class" before he had been abruptly cut off by Mirajane. Erza's eyes narrowed into a considerable glare, Mira's matching it with an equal amount of intensity.

From Mirajane´s position, she was improving by large amounts every day and having another person, especially someone like Erza, would impede on her training.

It´s not like she felt very possessive of her partner. No, that _definitely_ wasn´t it.

"I don't recall asking for your assistance, _Mira_. So I believe that is in your best interests to back away from the strongest female in the guild."

If it were even possible, Mirajane's smile grew even sweeter as a darker aura wafted off of her, the amount of hostility and annoyance growing with each passing second.

"And I don't seem to recall giving up that title to some two-bit mage who managed to get lucky and squeak by the S-Class exam." She replied just as evenly. "Shall we settle our accounts right here?"

Both mages stood up from their seats before stepping away from the clearing's seating area and into the open battle section. Opposing auras of scarlet and violet clashed against one another scaring away nearly all wildlife. Streams of lightning collided in between the two opposing glares as they suffocating atmosphere was practically electric.

The third person, who had concluded these two mixed as well as oil and water, had been all but forgotten and uncomfortably made his presence known in the clearing with an uneasy smile.

"Uh, I'd rather not have you two fight right here..."

The shinobi's first mistake was thinking that he could stop a conflict between two diehard rivals. The second and biggest mistake was involving himself.

Two sets of eyes snapped towards him each intending to demand he butt out before they suddenly widened coming to a similar conclusion.

Materializing a coat of light around herself, Erza donned a black-winged armor set and pointed the tip of her two-handed blade directly at Naruto's chest, giving a strange a sense of déjà vu to the shinobi.

"Very well, we will both battle against you as a way to end our conflict."

"Wait, what?!"

Surrounded in a purple storm of magical power, Mirajane emerged transformed into her Satan Soul form; upraised hair, elongated claws, and a dangerous grin bundled all in one.

"And the winner gets the right to train with you."

" _Umm, Kurama? Little help here please?"_

 _"_ **As the superior being, I will allow this challenge to satiate my boredom.** "

" _REALLY?!"_

 _"_ **What? I'll give you some tips if you're that scared. For example, dodge right now.** "

"Bastard fox!" Naruto outwardly shouted, right as Mira and Erza both began their attack.

The two S-Class mages struck downwards with a fist and a sword splitting the earth apart with dangerous force. The blond dimension traveler nimbly avoided the conjoined attack on his person by leaping backwards while withdrawing his sketchbook from within his coat.

Flipping to his most recent section of the book, he tore out a few pages right as he jumped over Erza's forward thrust. She dignified knight's step in was so strong that it had taken her from nearly ten feet away to directly in front of him with a blade ready to pierce through him.

" **Oh? She's not bad.** " Kurama commented from within his cell. " **I'd estimate she'd be a top-tier samurai of the Iron Country.** "

Naruto's facial features mirrored his inner displeasure as his body moved as if automatically. " _You're really enjoying this, aren't you?_ "

Erza's eyes widened as the shinobi, with the grace of a cat, jumped off of her sword like a springboard using two feet to accurately land on the blade's hilt.

Naruto flipped forwards over her head while in midair where he was met by Mirajane whose fist was enveloped in a sphere of demonic energy. Flexing her clawed fingers, she did a large, sweeping slash that launched five wide claw-shaped waves of magic.

Kurama devilishly grinned revealing the rows of razor sharp elongated fangs that could pierce through even the toughest metals with ease. " **Of course not. I'm just very interested in this world's "magic". The white one's manipulation of it is also quite interesting.** "

Not even bothering to hide his annoyance, the shinobi held out one of the pages he tore out in a defensive manner against the oncoming slashes of magic power.

 _¨What's he thinking? There´s no way a piece of paper can block my attack!¨_

Mirajane's eyes momentarily widened as the words the ocean-blue eyed teen spoke moments ago rang in her mind.

To her surprise and horror, a practically unnoticeable void the size of a pin needle began to draw in and absorb her attack sucking in each individual magic claw until there was nothing left. A new symbol in black ink appeared on the piece of paper wielded by the eccentric ninja.

"Surprised?" he asked as he landed safely on the ground, his insufferable grin annoying her greatly.

Erza stared in awe at the seemingly normal piece of paper that somehow absorbed an attack that would have given even her some damage. She had never witnessed anything similar to that form of magic believing it to be something akin to Runes.

 _"The long this battle progresses, the more uncertain I become of our combined chances."_ She thought eying Mirajane as the grip on her sword tightened.

Mirajane however remained indifferent, knowing that giving the blond a reaction would only fuel his amusement. The boy trumped even her as a sadist when it came to teasing.

"When it comes to you, I guess I shouldn't be." she neutrally responded maintaining her composure. "Also do you think that thing can take another one of those?"

Mira's hands were enveloped in a purple glow once more, her clawed, demonic hands becoming two times more intimidating. Returning back to reality with the questions of her rival, Erza subtly moved behind the shinobi's line of sight in preparation for an attack from the rear.

Naruto's confident grin widened further in response to Mirajane's threat as he held up his remaining two pages that he had torn out from earlier, one held in between each of his index and middle fingers.

¨I've got more than one trick up my sleeve, y'know. If I were you, I'd be more worried at the fact that a total newbie is managing to school his seniors in their own areas of expertise. "

The clearing became dead silent.

Both of their prides as S-Class mages so brazenly insulted, Mirajane and Erza discarded their original strategy of feeling out the blond's potential moves to develop a strategy to counter them. Their eyes darkened considerably while their magical power output skyrocketed as their goal became one in the same.

Beat. Him. Down.

Dark, stormy whirlwinds surrounded the two rivals as they gathered everything they had towards thrashing the pest in front of them.

Erza's Black Wing Armor and sword glowed with a scarlet hue as the swordswoman sharpened her blade to its very limit. The weapon's sharpness was enhanced by the sun as the medal reflected the rays of light giving it a blinding glint.

Bringing her hands close together, a purple sphere of magic materialized within Mirajane's palms growing larger with each passing second. The orb of energy glowed a malevolent violet as a spiraling storm of magic was contained into a smaller shape that continued to expand in order to hold the sheer amount of magic within it.

Practically dumping a gallon of fuel onto the metaphorical fire, Naruto's grin widened even further as he made a "Come on" motion with his hands adding the last straw that broke the camel's back.

" **Soul Extinction**!"

" **Moon Flash**!"

A nigh unstoppable torrent of demonic energy magnified in waves rushed towards the unperturbed ninja from the front while a flying cross-shaped slash approached from the rear. At that moment, two silver chains with a golden hue burst from his upper back before coiling themselves around each arm with movements as fluid as two snakes.

The chains suddenly began to warble and melt becoming an amorphous liquid-substance that coated Naruto's arms in their entirety until solidifying into silverish-gold segmented sections of armor. The Uzumaki's left and right shoulders down to his hands were surrounded in the Adamantine chains until not a single space was left uncovered.

With his newly acquired armor sleeves, he held his arms out to each side intercepting both the wave of demonic energy and the sword slashes with his hands. The two attacks slammed against his armored hands, one intending to pulverize his bones while the other intended to slash him apart.

A loud screeching sound reverberated across the forest with magic grinding against metal, neither of the two giving an inch against the other. The cacophonous noise was utterly deafening as the two S-Class girls continued to fuel their attacks against the whiskered teen who had not given in against their combined effort.

Erza and Mirajane's attacks pushed against him with all of their might but it was all for naught. Their expressions changed to that of shock as both Soul Extinction and Moon Flash were obliterated mere seconds later.

As the smoke cleared, Naruto's hands surrounded in chains were clenched indicating that he had crushed both of the attacks with seemingly minimal effort.

For Mirajane this was the first time that she had witnessed Naruto using the chains for something other than chasing and capturing enemies. She glared at the whiskered teen whose metal-covered hands remained only slightly burnt from her strongest attack.

For Erza, this was the introduction of something completely new. In their initial spar, the blond had wielded a small knife whose material managed to cut through her steel swords like butter. She first believed that he had concealed the weapon in his sleeve, but that did not appear to be the case now.

Eyeing the new armor surrounding his sleeves, she concluded that the rookie's abilities allowed him to control those strange chains as if it was second nature to him while also being able to manipulate their shape to nearly anything he desired.

Taking advantage of their flabbergasted state of mind, dozens of chains burst from the ground beneath the S-Class mages seizing their legs, hands, waist, and even neck for good measure.

"It's my win." Naruto declared as the armor around his arms reverted back into chains and disappeared into his body.

Mirajane sighed and undid her Takeover knowing that once she was captured there was no way of escape. After all, these chains were the reason why their current record was 9–0.

"I give up." She readily conceded.

Erza on the other hand continued to struggle even refusing to release her sword that still remained in her grip.

"Not yet! I can still fight!" She argued as she continued to wrestle against the chains' hold on her.

As the chains set Mirajane down, the S-Class mage rubbed her wrists before staring at her rival's current position. She tilted her head to the side before a devilish smile stretched across her lips.

Naruto stood in front of a still entangled Erza with Mira behind him, arms crossed over his chest and a weary expression marking his features. He didn't know how long it would take for Erza to give up as she was almost as stubborn as him.

" _I really wish she'd just give up here. It's not like she's losing anything..._ "

" **Bah, don't be such a downer.** " Kurama voiced with a tint of amusement laced in his tone. " **I'm more eager to see just how long she'll hold out before she breaks**."

"… _What did you say just now?_ "

"Hey, Naruto~"

Glancing behind him to find the source of the sweet-sounding voice, Naruto's ocean blue eyes met a smiling Mirajane whose gaze was firmly fixated on her struggling rival who had not bothered to listen in on their conversation.

"I can make her give up. Just make me a stick with those chains of yours."

"What are you going to do?" Naruto questioned eyeing Mira warily.

"Persuade her." Was her almost immediate and overly _cheerful_ reply.

Against his better judgment, the ninja from another world nervously smiled before complying. He clapped his hands together before pulling them apart creating a pole roughly a meter in length and four to five centimeters in width.

Mirajane grabbed the item chirping a thanks and moving to stand directly in front of Erza.

" **This is gonna be entertaining.** "

" _Okay, you wanna tell me what's going on since you seem to know more about this situation than I do?"_

Naruto could practically see the fox's grin after asking his question despite not being face to face with his partner.

" **I want you to think long and hard about those books that toad of a teacher had you proof-read and the situation in front of you.** "

Naruto blinked once. He blinked twice. He blinked a third time before his jaw suddenly dropped almost hitting the ground. His eyes inspected the chains protruding from the ground and realized the way they were holding Erza was rather... provocative.

Understanding slammed into the shinobi like a truck as he realized what Mirajane intended to do but it was way too late to stop her.

Erza momentarily ceased her struggling upon noticing her rival's presence directly beneath her. She still donned her Black Wing armor but Mirajane's takeover was nowhere to be seen. Instead, Mira's lips were upturned in a cheerful smile while her demeanor reflected that of someone who hadn't lost.

"It looks like I am the victor through forfeit." Erza confidently stated smirking victoriously in the face of her rival.

Rather than get offended or annoyed by her declaration, Mira's smile only grew.

"Actually, you haven't actually won as the bet was to see who could _beat_ Naruto. Besides, if anything you're the loser here."

Erza's expression shifted to that of confusion before she suddenly gasped when she felt _something_ touch her. Her hazel brown eyes followed the source to a rod currently being held by Mira who had pushed the chains wrapped around her legs _considerably_ higher.

The constrictions previously securing her at the middle of her legs had been pushed upwards much too close to her lower half. The knight could feel the cold metal dig into her flesh as her face began to burn brightly.

"W-W-What do you think you're doing, you harlot!"

With one hand adjusting the positions of the chains, Mirajane bit down on the index of her other while her eyes grew half-lidded.

"Harlot? That's quite rude. If anything, that name suits you a lot more."

"WHAT DID YOU SAY?!"

Mirajane returned Erza's previously confident smirk with one of her own as Erza felt chills run down her spine seeing the gleam in her sapphire orbs. The rod traveled higher and higher along the side of her leg as Erza felt her composure begin to waiver.

"After all, I bet you read about this situation all the time in those _books_ of yours."

And just like that, all color left Erza's face while her voice grew hoarse. "Y-You... You know about my books...?"

Mirajane stepped even closer to the scarlet haired warrior; their bodies practically pressed together, and brought her mouth directly next to her ear.

"Of course I know. I've had dirt on you for ages, Erza~"

Erza felt her face burn like never before as her cheeks grew redder with each passing second. Mira's hand softly caressed her cheek before sliding downwards, trailing down the nape of her neck towards the silver-edged breastplate that covered very little.

"I won't tell anyone as long as you admit that you lost." Mirajane continued to almost lovingly whisper. "And if you admit that I'm the strongest woman in the guild."

"N-Never!" Erza defiantly answered shuddering under Mira's touch.

"Then..." Mira's sweet smile became even more excited as the snow-haired girl practically pressed the rod to Erza's crotch. "You leave me no choice."

Before it could escalate any further, both the chains and rod being used by Mira and Erza vanished. With nothing constraining her anymore, Erza suddenly yelped as she toppled over on to an equally surprised Mirajane.

The Titania's face was pressed directly into her rival's chest while Mirajane lied on her back with her rival on top. She lifted her head up to look behind her while still on the ground and frowned in annoyance at the upside down blond.

"What the hell, Naruto? I was finally about to chase her away!"

She noticed a distinct dust of red on Naruto's whiskered cheeks as he stared disapprovingly with his arms crossed over his chest.

"Listen, although you seem to be having a blast molesting Erza..." Naruto trailed off eyeing Erza's utterly embarrassed disposition as she hurriedly climbed back to her feet while regaining a _very_ large distance away from the woman. "I'd really, _really_ rather not be an accomplice to sexual assault..."

"Hoh?" Mirajane teasingly grinned leaning on her side while resting her cheek in the palm of her hand, fully knowing that the tables had turned. "Then why didn't you stop me sooner, Pervy-sensei?"

Naruto let out a cry of pain as he felt a metaphorical lightning bolt pierce through his heart. His clasped the left side of his chest at getting called out before sputtering back a response. "Oh please! I was shocked, okay?! It's not every day you see a girl do _that_ kind of stuff to another girl, y'know?!"

The image of Mirajane lewdly touching Erza seemed like a scene straight out of the Icha Icha series his late godfather was infamous for. Not many knew that Naruto had been responsible for reading over the _entirety_ of Jiraiya's work making sure there were no grammatical errors. After all, the pervert had forced him to do so stating it was a form of payment for the trip.

After reading through all three Icha Icha installments, the jinchuriki could safely say his late teacher had planted the seeds of a closet pervert and corrupted him.

"Besides, you guys are so unfair challenging me when I don't get anything in return at all! Since I won, I want you guys to answer some questions I've had for a while, deal?"

Mirajane burst into a fit of laughter as she hugged the sides of her black tank-top before standing back to her feet. "Whatever you say, Pervy-sensei."

" _Damn it... I'm not Ero-sennin... I'm not that guy... I'm not..._ " Naruto internally cried.

" **Keep telling yourself that, Pervy-sensei.** "

Feeling heavy-hearted at the fact he had been branded with the same pet name as his godfather, Naruto decided to move things along and learn more about Fiore.

"I've been wondering this for a while since Erza's said it multiple times..." Naruto began drawing the aforementioned scarlet-haired girl's attention. "But what is an S-Class mage? You guys keep calling me that."

Mirajane and Erza both owlishly blinked giving each other estranged glances before redirecting their focus on Naruto.

¨You don´t know what an S-Class mage is?" Mirajane tentatively asked.

The shinobi shook his head in a negatory manner.

¨But aren't you an S-Class mage?" Erza confusedly questioned.

¨Again, what is that...?¨ Naruto sweatdropped.

Mira and Erza both felt chills realizing that Naruto wasn't kidding.

"An S-Class mage is a title given to only the strongest wizards." Erza began starting with a brief description. "Strength, intellect, dexterity, and even luck are all merits that are judged during Fairy Tail's S-Class promotion trials."

Seeing Naruto's confusion, Mirajane decided to expound on Erza's summary. "Every year, the master chooses a group of candidates to participate in the S-Class Promotion Exams that take place on the guild's island, Tenroujima."

Naruto let out an "ahh" of understanding as he started to realize just how similar Fiore was to his old world. " _In other words, these promotion trials are like our Chuunin exams..."_

"In addition to prestige, S-Class wizards are also granted the privilege of undertaking S-Class requests that give greater rewards than normal jobs, but they are far more dangerous." Erza spoke resuming her explanation.

"So does that mean S-Class is the highest rank there is?"

The silver and scarlet haired wizards exchanged a look with one another before shaking their heads.

¨Although it´s not really a rank open to everyone, there is one last rank that only the greatest wizards on the continent can reach." Erza responded. ¨The Ten Wizard Saints is an organization of the ten strongest wizards in Fiore and they even hold some influence over the country´s political matters.¨

¨The top ten strongest wizards on the continent, huh?" The shinobi murmured to himself.

¨Master Makarov is also one of the Ten Wizard Saints.¨ Mirajane added. ¨Also I´ve been meaning to ask this, but where exactly did you come from, Naruto? I thought someone like you would have already become S-Class by now.¨

Erza nodded in her head in agreement directing a questioning gaze towards the blond in question.

The Uzumaki uneasily smiled shifting nervously in the face of two rather intense stares. ¨Well, where I come from we do have ranks like you guys, but we just called them different things, y´know?¨

The two rivals' unsettled expressions eased up a bit upon hearing the whiskered boy's explanation concluding that there were some remote regions that did have different standards than Fiore.

" _Only difference is our "exams" basically tell you to kill everyone or somehow survive until the end to pass..._ "

"So what rank were you then?"

Naruto blinked at the sudden question turning to Mira who had asked the question. "What?"

"What rank did you formerly possess?" Erza asked repeating the question. "Surely you were of high rankings?"

Although it could hardly be called accurate, his current and official rank was rather embarrassing as the jinchuriki sheepishly chuckled while averting his gaze.

"Well back in my village, I'm actually considered the lowest rank not counting academy students who are all 9 to 11 years old..."

Erza and Mirajane's facial features paled considerably, their minds going blank and failing to register what they had just heard.

"You've gotta be joking." Mira tonelessly spoke.

"Sadly, I'm not." Naruto embarrassedly chuckled.

"So you mean to say that there are even 10-year olds who are as capable as you?" Erza hollowly questioned.

"Oh, no of course not!" The whiskered jinchuriki immediately interjected waving his hands in an attempt to clear away the confusion.

Seeing Mira and Erza relax albeit slightly, the ninja from another world decided to elaborate further.

"I took the promotion exam when I was 13, but there were... complications..."

"What do you mean by complications?" Mira curiously asked.

Naruto scratched the side of his cheek deliberating the best way to explain it both concisely and with detail.

"Long story short, my village was attacked during the exam, my friends were hurt, and at the end of it our leader died in the invasion."

The two wizards' eyes widened before their owners simultaneously lowered their heads in an apology.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to pry too much." Mira apologized.

"I as well." Erza supplemented.

Waving his hands in a disregarding manner, Naruto gave an eye smile to the two. "Don't worry about it, it's all in the past. Anyway because of that attack, I had to leave the village to train and I never really had the time to take a promotion exam after that for years."

"But if that's the case then I'm sure you'll pass the S-Class promotion trials this year!"

Erza had been the one to suddenly speak up slightly surprising both Naruto and Mirajane. The silver-haired mage looked towards her training partner and nodded as well wholly agreeing with Erza's declaration. Her eyes suddenly lit up as an idea came to mind.

"Hey, I have an idea. Since you can't take on S-Class quests at the moment, I'll take you on one with me so that I can show you what it's like."

The Titania's gaze snapped towards her rival in shock as she had the same idea mere seconds ago. "Wait a min—"

"Okay, sure!" Naruto answered with a grin. "I could use the reward money, too."

Mirajane directed a sideways smirk towards Erza who clenched her fist in annoyance. "Perfect, then how about we meet up later at the guildhall. I'll clean up here."

Naruto blinked rather surprised at the offer to clean up their training area. Although there wasn't a huge mess, there was still a makeshift fire pit with burnt lumber and scattered rocks along with a wooden training dummy made reusing a fallen tree.

Seeing Mirajane nod her head in affirmation, Naruto smiled in thanks nodding his head in gratitude before taking off.

Mira maintained a sweet, bubbly smile as she waved him off watching his departing back in the distance.

"Now that we're by ourselves, I'd like you to know that I'd appreciate it if you could stop trying to steal my training partner." She casually spoke to the girl beside her.

Although Mirajane had witnessed Naruto create clones on numerous occasions, she doubted Erza possessed the same knowledge which is why she decided to take advantage of that fact.

Erza crossed her arms over her breastplate, a neutral expression marking her features. "Oh, please. I'm sure Naruto would be more than willing to assist me in my own training. What reason could you possibly have to treat him like he's yours?"

A look of annoyance crossed the Takeover mage's countenance. Just the thought of Erza creating the gap annoyed her enough, but the thought of Naruto being alone with her rival Erza made things a little bit more than uncomfortable.

It was quieter than mouse but louder than a forest breeze. She watched as the charismatic, whiskered boy became smaller and smaller in the distance before murmuring words heard by herself and herself alone.

"Because it was a promise..." She childishly whispered.

 **Fairy Tail Guildhall**

Naruto had just arrived to the Fairy Tail guildhall pushing aside its wooden doors and entering a jovial morning atmosphere. As he took the time to observe his surroundings, he noticed that a few members had already entered early.

Makarov was stationed at his usual position of the bar´s counter top sitting cross-legged with his eyes closed in either thought or rest.

The older men he saw at the cemetery before, Macao and Wakaba, were drinking with a girl around his age despite it still being early in the day.

Over by a wall lined with sheets of paper, the ninja assumed that was where you found job requests; a man with chin length black hair and tribal wear stared intently at each paper as if entranced.

A couple tables away, a _very_ bulky, roundish man used a brush and palette to create a portrait, carefully measuring each stroke with an attentive eye.

There wasn't that much activity considering it was pretty early in the morning, but there were still a good amount of mages already ready to begin their days. Natsu was a prime example as he ran up towards the blonde along with a flying Happy.

"Hey Naruto, what are you doing here so early?" he excitedly asked.

"I'm actually waiting on Mira to get here."

Natsu adopted a look of confusion giving a strange glance to Happy who returned the gesture.

"Why are you waiting for Mira to get here?"

"Aye, aren't you scared of her?"

This time it was Naruto's turn to be confused. "Umm, why would I be scared of her? Besides she said she's going to take me on an S-Class job to see what it's like."

Natsu's expression was that of shock as his jaw nearly hit the ground. "What?!"

The shinobi´s confused look was still apparent as he rubbed the back of his neck uncomfortably in the face of Natsu´s intensive stare.

¨Is there something wrong with that?"

Natsu recovered from his initial shock fumbling with his response. ¨W-Well, not really since S-Class mages can take non S-Class mages with them, but still you just joined a couple weeks ago! They´re supposed to be really dangerous too!"

Naruto gave an eye smile to the fire dragon slayer before ruffling his hair in an amused manner. ¨Don´t worry about it. I´m plenty strong.¨

¨But—¨

¨Relax, Flamebrain.¨ Gray spoke up entering their conversation as he walked through the entrance's doors. The Ice Make wizard's attitude was as cool as always. In a way, it reminded the whiskered teen of how his former friend could have turned out if it weren't for the massacre of his family.

Natsu´s mood immediately soured with the exhibitionist´s arrival while Naruto and Happy gave a small wave to the composed mage.

"Welcome back, Gray!" Happy greeted with his paw in the air.

The ice wizard gave a nod towards the flying feline before returning back to his original thought.

¨There aren't any members of our guild who can´t take care of themselves.¨ Gray stated as if it were fact. His navy blue eyes stared directly into Natsu's onyx ones. "Besides, I'm sure Mira knows what she's doing. Haven't you noticed how much she's changed since she started practicing again with Naruto?"

Naruto's eyebrow slightly rose at that. " _Wait, how did he know... oh right Erza._ "

Natsu grumbled an "I guess" to himself knowing his rival held a pretty strong argument. "But still, be careful, Naruto."

The dimension traveler grinned reassuringly projecting an air of genuineness. "Relax, I can take care of anything this job throws at me."

"Oh, I'm not talking about the job." Natsu replied shivering slightly. "I'm talking about Mira."

"Mira?"

Natsu nodded, his facial expression reliving a past trauma of sorts reflecting nothing but fear as his arms and legs trembled. "When I was younger, she told me that if I wasn't careful around her she'd cook me up and eat me!"

A bead of sweat rolled down the back of Naruto's head realizing Mira must have scarred the poor boy a lot when he was younger.

"Natsu, I'm sure that's not true..." He deadpanned.

"Aye! She actually said she would eat him raw like a fish!" Happy enthusiastically supplied.

At that moment, the dragon slayer and his partner both felt a dainty hand grab onto their skulls with a vice grip as they each felt a shiver travel up their spines.

"Natsu... Happy..." An unmistakable voice sang out from behind them as the two culprits squeaked in fear. "Are you two spreading rumors about me?"

Naruto watched on, eyes full of pity for the fire wizard and his blue companion. He slightly sweatdropped seeing Gray subtly move behind him as if to use him as a shield against Mira.

" _At least he's good at using his head..._ "

"N-No! Of course we weren't!" Natsu hurriedly responded, his petrified gaze snapping towards his partner. "RIGHT, HAPPY!?"

"AYE!" The blue cat answered, eyes wide with fear and panic.

Mirajane loosened her hold on their heads allowing them to escape and scramble away. The infamous pair burst past Team Shadowgear as they entered their guildhall running as far away as possible.

While Gray took the opportunity to slink away and the shinobi watched the duo's retreating backs, Mirajane dusted off her hands before spinning on her heel to head up to Fairy Tail's second floor.

After Naruto had left, she had made a quick stop by her home to change into a better set of clothing that could be worn on missions. Although her form-fitting tank-top and shorts were easy to move in and ideal or for fighting, they weren't very presentable when taking on jobs. Her current attire consisted of a loose fitting pair of jeans and a comfortable navy-blue t-shirt that hugged her form nicely.

"I'll go grab a job, so just wait here."

She received a nod and a thumbs-up from her tag-along as she strode over towards the staircase leading upwards. Before she could climb the first step, the takeover mage heard the intentional cough of Makarov behind her.

The silver-haired teen glanced over her shoulder to meet Makarov's worried gaze that watched over her intently.

"You don't need to say anything, Master. I'll be fine." She softly smiled.

Makarov's concerned expression remained but eased slightly seeing the confident light return to his precious child's eyes.

Mirajane ascended up the revered staircase that only a select few had the right of climbing. Every time she took a step, she remembered a different trial that she had to face and overcome during her promotion's exam. The blood, the sweat, and the tears that she shed were all a part of her efforts to reach this point, and she would never take them lightly.

Reaching the top of the steps, she moved towards the S-Class job request bulletin that displayed a single job in comparison to the board downstairs that held a plethora.

"Investigate the disappearance of a town's women, reward twenty-million jewels..." Mira read aloud as she ripped the sheet off the board.

"Are you seriously going to take that request?" A voice suddenly questioned from behind.

Mirajane turned around to see Laxus sprawled out on the upper level's couch with his hands resting behind his head, eyes shut, and headphones blasting away. The grandson of the master was a wizard of exceptional talent and strength who had more than proved his rank as S-Class.

"I thought you would've quit by now after seeing how pitiful your magic power was a few weeks ago."

In addition to his impressive strength, Laxus was also very, _very,_ arrogant and condescending. He was a boastful and boorish individual who took too much pride in his status as an S-Class and lorded it over the rest of the Fairy Tail guild. Even during the few scarce encounters she had with the grandson of the third master, she could always see a resentful gleam in his eyes.

It wasn't directed solely towards her, but was instead directed towards everyone other than his personal followers.

It amazed Mirajane by just how different two blood-related individuals could be as she adopted an expression of indifference.

"If that's all you have to say, then I'm leaving Laxus."

Laxus derisively snorted as he sat up and swung his legs over the couch. He rested his cheek in the palm of his hand that propped itself up on the S-Class wizard's leg while a haughty smirk stretched across his features threatening to split his lightning bolt-shaped scar in two.

"Oh, yeah I heard you're bringing the greenhorn with you. Do me a favor and try not to lose the new guy too. It won't do for the guild's reputation if we somehow manage to lose our newbies like flies."

Mirajane's jaw tightened while her fists balled themselves tightly. Over the years, Laxus had grown to become increasingly more unbearable with a large number of the guild wishing for him to get taken down a peg. Before she could answer with a harsh retort, she suddenly stopped and smiled as an even better idea came to mind.

"I wouldn't worry about us if I were you." She evenly responded with an innocent smile. "I'd be more worried about your precious S-Class reputation because I'd bet a good amount of jewels that Naruto far surpasses you."

Her provocation earned a strong rise out of the Dreyar as a dark undertone reflected itself within his coal black eyes. The hairs on the back of his neck began to rise while a few sparks of electricity burst off his body.

¨Are you saying some rookie who joined less than a month ago could beat me?¨ he dangerously questioned.

Mira´s demure smile only furthered as she walked back towards the steps to the lower floor. Her hands were clasped behind her back while her posture was of picturesque blamelessness. With a glance over her shoulder, she hammered in the final nail.

¨Oh, would you look at that? You actually can hear other people over the sound of your own voice.¨

Mirajane didn´t bother to turn around as she descended back down as she could practically _feel_ Laxus seething and glaring holes into her back.

A small, almost invisible frown marred her lips as the conceited S-Class wizard´s grated on her psyche. Was she really ready for this? While she didn´t doubt Naruto could handle himself, she also felt fear as she knew first hand just how fast S-Class jobs could take a turn for the worst.

When she reached the bottom of the stairs, she found her training partner waiting for her nearby talking to the guild´s infamous heavy drinker, Cana.

¨Come on, just take one sip! Don´t be such a stick in the mud.¨ she loudly bemoaned practically shoving a mug of alcohol into the shinobi´s face.

Mirajane sighed to herself already used to Cana´s antics of intoxicating new members just to test whether they stood on the same abnormal alcohol tolerance level as the Card Mage.

Naruto initially had come to the bar to strike up a conversation with Makarov before being intercepted by Cana who had stopped him to ¨offer¨ a drink.

¨Cana, I´m fine really..." He replied with a bead of sweat rolling down the back of his head.

A mischievous glint gleamed in her amber eyes while a drunken blush adorned her nose and cheeks. ¨Hoh *hic? What´s tha matter? *hic! Ya chicken?¨

Cana slung an arm over the ocean-eyed teen's neck and in her inebriated state she yanked his face much closer to her barely concealed cleavage.

Naruto, face lightly burning red yet composed, internally lamented over the fact that he did not have much experience dealing with drunks. Sure there was his former teacher, but a good punch to the face usually sobered him up. Unfortunately, the shinobi doubted such a method would be accepted here especially with someone like Cana.

Thankfully, Mirajane came to his rescue as she appeared by his side and tugged him away while directing a frown towards Cana as she departed.

Cana's hazy gaze thickened gaining a sultry undertone to it with a hint of jealousy.

"Hoh? You sure are bold, Mira *hic. Already making the newbie yours to play with *hic." She drunkenly slurred aloud as the duo was no longer within earshot and already out the guild's front doors.

The Card Mage's boozy eyes eventually wandered back towards her empty cup noting it was empty. "Someone refill my damn cup already!"

 **Train Ride to Marigold Town**

Despite having observed the scenery once on his way into Magnolia, Naruto still found himself in awe at just how beautiful the passing landscape truly was. Clean rivers flowed alongside the train into wide lakes, verdant hills and forests dotted the mountainside providing homes for hundreds of creatures, it was a land unmarred by conflict.

Vivid images of the war torn battlefields, barren wastelands, and destroyed coastlines were still fresh on the young ninja's mind as he shook his head to clear away the nightmarish daze.

Sitting across from him, Mirajane occasionally snuck glances towards the blond who went back to drawing in his pocket book. The Uzumaki had not asked any questions regarding their mission and had been told only the basic info she had given him before they left. It made her rather anxious as she wondered if the whiskered boy was also nervous.

She talked big in front of Laxus since she knew it would annoy the lightning wizard, but she truthfully had no idea whether or not Naruto could handle an S-Class job.

Sure he was undefeated in their training matches and had even beaten both her and Erza at the same time, but an S-Class job was the real deal.

Mira gave him a small, nervous glance once more except this time she found his inquisitive stare being returned right back at her. Laxus's words rang out once more striking the bell of unease within her chest.

"What's the matter? You've been anxious since we left." Naruto curiously asked.

Although he wasn't as nearly skilled at detecting emotions without using Kurama's Chakra Mode, the shinobi could still tell that there was something bothering Mirajane given by the number of nervous movements she kept making along with the number of times she kept glancing at him when she thought he didn't notice.

Slightly unsettled at being unexpectedly caught, the eldest Strauss tried to play off her worries as figments of her companion's imagination.

"I was just a bit surprised is all." She explained shifting her sights towards the window. "I mean aren't you nervous about the job? You haven't asked anything about it."

"Not really." He answered, his hand fluidly moving the pencil along the pocketbook. "The job flyer only says the reward and where to go, so I figured I'd get the job's important details from the person who made the request."

Naruto paused to observe his work. At the moment, he was recreating the seal he used against Mirajane in training making sure it was perfect to the last stroke. It wasn't very practical to use small pieces of paper in actual situations, but he figured it would be more important to learn and memorize the seal first before crossing that bridge.

He suddenly smiled as an idea came to him. "Actually I do have a question."

"R-Really?" Mira responded with a hint of surprise underlying her tone. "What is it?"

"Did you actually eat kids when you were younger?"

Mirajane's face slowly turned a bright shade of red as Naruto's words sank in. In a combination of both embarrassment and anger, she stood up to her feet looming over Naruto despite the latter being five to six inches shorter while sitting down.

"That's a lie and you know it! I only said that to Natsu because he wouldn't stop challenging me to fights all the time!"

The Strauss's chest rose up and down taking in air after having to abruptly shout. The whiskered mischief-maker snickered in amusement at his companion's reaction.

"You look more relaxed now. We haven't even started the job yet, so just take it easy, y'know?" His ocean eyes had already returned to the notebook in his lap as he continued to practice his seal writing.

Mirajane's lips frowned in a sulking manner but she couldn't argue with the blond's logic. She eventually shifted her attention towards the book that Naruto had been writing in ever since they boarded the train.

The shinobi felt the cushion beneath him shift with the addition of more weight as Mirajane moved to sit next to him rather than across. Her curious gaze wandered over his notebook trying to make sense of the foreign shapes and characters.

"That reminds me, what exactly do those symbols mean? I remember you were drawing those back in the forest too."

"They're called Seals." Naruto answered flicking the pencil he was drawing with around his thumb with a grin.

Mirajane on the other hand was left with a more or less confused impression. Seals, the very word itself seemed like a foreign concept. Despite the brash personality she once retained years ago, she had still been considered quite knowledgeable on the numerous types of magic used by wizards.

Yet in the years of her tenure as an S-Class wizard, not once had she heard or seen a magic remotely similar to what Naruto used.

Noticing her clearly complex countenance, Naruto flipped his book's pages closer towards the front of his pocketbook in order to provide a more detailed explanation. He held the book up displaying two pages side by side.

"Do you see anything out of the ordinary with these?"

Scanning over both pages, she noticed a clear difference in the way one page contained more symbols than the other.

"Although they're called Seals, sealing things away isn't their only use. They can be used for a lot of different things like makeshift bombs, power sealers, or in the more advanced cases..."

Mirajane's eyes suddenly lit up recollecting a certain memory that happened not too long ago while drowning out the blue-eyed boy's voice. It was when the eccentric teen had shown up outside her home asking her to take him grocery shopping. He handed her a piece of paper that didn't make sense to her then unlike it did now.

"… barriers, teleportation, or even—"

"Gravity manipulation?" Mirajane guessed surprising the otherworldly ninja.

"Yeah, I've actually been working on that one for the past week. How'd you know that?"

"I remember it was on your list of reminds that you accidentally showed me before we went shopping. Quick question though."

Naruto felt a sudden chill run up his spine in the face of Mira's all too bright smile.

"Who exactly were you planning to test these seals on?"

A few thoughts had crossed Mira's mind almost immediately after realizing just how often the blond worked on those seals of his and after he had explained their potential uses. The first was the trick behind his teleportation ability. When they had teleported to Natsu and Lisanna's first home, she saw an insignia with similar characters nearby on a rock. The second was his use of seals and his guinea pig for them. He already used one in their training fight with Erza, so who was to say he wouldn't use them again?

Naruto averted his gaze innocently whistled while a bead of sweat ran down the back of his head. His blue eyes peeked to the side glancing to see if Mira had stopped staring... she hadn't.

"C'mon, Mira it's equivalent exchange. We're both training, so it only makes sense that'd I try out new things, y'know?"

Her sapphire eyes remained unyielding and unamused as they stared into his.

"… If you want I can just practice on my on clones, no big deal?"

There was still no change.

"… You want me to use these on Erza, don't you?"

 **I think I'm gonna end it off here for a couple of reasons. If I wrote out the whole mission and the end, it would probably get to 20k.** **Secondly, pretty much all of this is set up for the next chapter so it's not that fun to write. Lastly i** **t's better to assume that I'll have monthly updates rather than weekly since I'm prepping for university, so that's all.**


	5. Let Go and Move On

**CH6: Let Go and Move On**

Person/Human talking

 _Person/Human thinking_

 **Demon talking**

 _ **Demon thinking**_

 _ **Technique name**_

 **I don't own anything including the cover art**

Hi. There are a lot of words.

 **Marigold Town**

"Hmm~ Hmm~ Hhmm~"

Mirajane hummed a happy tune as she practically skipped through Marigold Town's unpaved streets.

It had been awhile since her last visit to this town for a job request involving monster removal but the silver-haired mage still found its atmosphere quite serene. Marigold was not a commercial or industrialized town. Its settlement was located in the more rural regions of Fiore that centralized their industries around farming and mining.

The town was located by a large, crystal-clear lake while the train's railroad tracks looped around the body of water and back. A pair of mountains resided far behind the civilian area while the settlement's infrastructure all led towards the town square. Waist high stone walls were erected along the side of the streets that were decorated with different kinds of buildings.

Some of Marigold's architecture consisted of full one-story stone buildings that served as a house while small businesses and shops had buildings made of wood and plaster. Back then, there were even traders stopping by to purchase the town's harvest of either crops or metals in order to sell to industrial companies located closer to the continent's capital.

However, there were only two people in sight at the moment.

"Y'know, I'm really starting to think you just like bullying the poor thing." Naruto dryly commented referring to Erza as he walked alongside a joyous Mira.

The shinobi's footsteps trailed behind the snow-haired beauty, ocean-blue eyes watching her ponytail bounce up and down mimicking their owner's morbid joy.

"When you get to know her and don't feel the urge to mess with her, you can ride that high horse all day long." was her immediate reply. "Her reactions are just too amusing."

"Right..." Naruto replied, his voice trailing off as his eyes observed his surroundings. "Doesn't this town seem way too quiet?"

Something seemed off with this place. There was no one around them. There were no men, no women, and no children. There was only a chilling silence accompanied by the rhythmic pattern of the two Fairy Tail members' footsteps echoing across the empty town's narrow streets.

Naruto found it highly akin to that of a scary ghost town where all the residents were either mysteriously killed or just vanished.

Not that he was still afraid of ghosts...

He was one of the most badass ninjas to ever walk the earth. He fought freaking gods and monsters for a living! There was no way he was afraid of something only kids believed in.

"Hey, how about we go—"

"Ghost?! Where?!"

Mirajane blinked at the sudden yet random outburst while directing a dry and amused stare towards her blond companion.

Realizing his rather "unprofessional" slip of the tongue, Naruto's facial expression imitated that of a deer-caught-in-a-headlight as he nervously laughed off the blunder.

"You're not afraid of ghosts are you?"

In response to Mirajane's amused and mirthful inquiry, the shinobi of another land returned a stony glare.

"I ain't afraid of no ghosts."

Shaking her head after learning a possibly exploitable tidbit about her partner, Mira's sharp eyes returned to their vigilant search as they looked towards a nearby house's windows finding the glass panel's other side to be completely boarded up. She recalled that upon disembarking from their locomotive transport, they had not run into a single townsperson.

There were not even attendants at the train station's ticket booth.

Mira suddenly stopped with Naruto doing the same, both observing their surroundings with a tentative wariness weighing on their shoulders.

"We need to find the town hall. The mayor was the one who—"

Mirajane's sentence was abruptly cut off by the sound of a loud piercing scream that resounded throughout every crevice in the ghost town.

Two sets of blue eyes instantly dilated, their pupils reflecting a sharpened sense of awareness that snapped towards the source of the fearful cry.

The yellow and white haired duo exchanged a look before sprinting off towards the origin of the scream.

The sounds of their footsteps rapidly running across the unpaved ground were quiet yet rushed as they navigated through backstreets and alleyways eventually finding the first actual person in Marigold.

Huddled and backed into a corner, eyes petrified with fear, a young girl with shoulder length blonde hair, fair peach skin, and sparkling emerald eyes stared face-to-face with what could only be described as a hound from hell. Her small dainty hands were scratched and lightly bleeding as they pressed themselves against the coarse stone alley way ground while her slender legs continued to backpedal against the concrete wall with a relentless fervor, desperate to get as far away from their demise as possible.

Even though there was no longer any room to back away, the young girl's fear-addled mind could only remain terrified in the gaze of those horrid blue eyes.

The hound was at least two meters tall and one meter wide. Its fur coat was reminiscent to that of a fire that had long since died out. Dark, gray ash covered the canine's midnight black fur while a grizzly tail swished back and forth with an almost predatory playfulness. Its most terrifying features were the burning azure flames leaking from the corners of its mouth along with the glowing blue embers that comprised its sharp eyes.

A low growl rumbled from its throat as it revealed the rows of sharpened, jagged teeth adorning its mouth. Its paws tightened themselves before they pounced off the ground launching the nightmarish dog towards its defenseless prey.

Time seemed to grow still at that very moment for Elizabeth. She had only ventured out into their once safe and tranquil town in hopes of finding food for her town's orphanage where she lived. She hadn't expected to find a demon's hellhound chasing after her and she certainly hadn't expected to be trapped with nowhere else to run.

" _Someone..._ "

She tried to scream, desperate to wring out something— anything to call for help, yet nothing came. Her voice had long since left her with her life not too far behind it.

The hound's claws, sharp enough to cleave a person's limb clean off, were mere inches away from her neck.

Elizabeth squeezed her eyes shut, hoping for only a quick end to her life.

Expecting to hear the revolting sound of her flesh being ripped away from her, she stiffened upon feeling a swift rush of air followed almost immediately by the sound of a solid thump.

"Are you okay?"

Elizabeth slowly opened her eyes, blearily blinking away the haziness clouding her sight where she was greeted with the wondrous sight of another human.

As the last of the bleariness left her, her eyes slowly widened coming face to face with the prettiest girl she had ever met kneeling in front of her. Her hair reminiscent to that of a cascade of snow flowed in gorgeous locks that even she was jealous of at her young age. Warm eyes as blue as the sky were touched with concern as a gentle hand placed itself on her cheek inspecting her for any signs of harm.

She nodded, eyes firmly transfixed on the seemingly magnanimous teen.

If the mysterious lady in front of her wore a dress instead of jeans and a t-shirt, Elizabeth would have mistaken her for a princess.

"Phew, we really cut it close there didn't we?"

Elizabeth was broken from her stupor with the addition of a new and distinctly masculine voice. Peeking over the snow-haired woman's shoulder, she found another teenager who looked to be the same age.

Observing the princess's compatriot, she noticed bright spiky yellow hair and eyes bluer than the ocean being his most prominent features while his reassuring smile alone managed to return the feeling back to her numbed limbs.

That is until her eyes wandered towards the dead hound, neck was bent at an awkward angle, causing her to flinch and scuttle away from the mere sight of it.

The boy's grin faltered slightly realizing just how shaken up the girl must have been knowing just how close her end almost came. His gaze met with Mira's who stood up and gestured for him to take care of the girl they had saved.

The shinobi nodded and moved towards the quivering adolescent while Mirajane went to study the hound he had killed.

"Hey, you okay, kid? It's alright now. You don't have to be scared."

The whiskered jinchuriki knelt down in front of Elizabeth and firmly grasped her shoulders to quell her trembling. A pair of emerald orbs looked up towards Naruto, their owner taking in a shaky breath of air before stiffly nodding.

"A-Are you the mages the mayor called for help?"

Gently stroking her disheveled head of hair, Naruto grinned, a simple manner that helped to reassure Elizabeth's fears.

"That's right. We're both here to help. Can you tell me your name?"

Gasping realizing she had been ill-mannered despite the orphanage's mother's constant reprimands, Elizabeth felt a flush of hot embarrassment flood her cheeks.

"S-Sorry, m-my name is Elizabeth."

"Elizabeth, huh? That's a nice name!" Naruto nodded in an upbeat manner of approval. "I'm Naruto, Naruto Uzumaki and the pretty one over there is Mirajane. We're both from Fairy Tail."

"Fairy... Tail?"

Seeing Elizabeth's expression of confusion hearing the unfamiliar name, Naruto rolled up his sleeve revealing the black insignia adorning his right outer bicep while adopting a prideful attitude.

Elizabeth's light emerald orbs widened upon witnessing the symbol for the first time. She had never met a mage until this very moment, and never before had she felt such deep emotions of awe and splendor for two singular people.

"Hey Naruto, come here for a second." Mirajane called out as she kneeled beside the motionless black hound.

Giving Elizabeth a nod indicating he'd be back soon, Naruto stood up and joined Mirajane's side in the back alley.

"What's up?"

As soon as he had arrived, the blond had almost immediately spotted a prominent frown marking Mira's countenance as she observed the hound he killed via neck snapping.

Mirajane's sky blue eyes moved over the canine's motionless body, her hand traveling from its head towards the center of its body. The dog's form began to shimmer a luminescent violet light before it slowly began to dissolve away into particles of energy that were absorbed into Mira's palm.

Mirajane grimaced, her suspicions as well as her fears confirmed. "Naruto... this thing was made by a demon. Not only that, it was made by a powerful one too."

Naruto's lips settled for a neutral frown, a sense of perturbation setting in knowing just how knowledgeable Mirajane was when it came to the subject of demons in Earthland. If this was making her uneasy, it meant their enemy would be quite formidable.

Two ocean-blue orbs shifted towards the Marigold resident while their owner moved to help Elizabeth back to her feet.

With a helping hand extended in front of her, Elizabeth nodded and accepted the offer gratefully while Naruto chose to voice his request.

"Do you know where the rest of the people in this town are?"

In her 13 years of life, Elizabeth had never nodded as fast as she did then.

 **Marigold City Hall**

It was a strange experience when they had first arrived into Marigold, a town highly renowned for its reputation in the textile industry, to find not a single human soul in sight.

The reason being was because they were all sheltered under one roof.

"Man, talk about spacious." Naruto muttered beneath his breath.

Two sets of blue eyes cast their gaze across the interior of Marigold Town's City Hall, a remarkable piece of modern Fiore architecture. Massive stone pillars engraved with symmetric stylized lotus flower markings acted as support pillars for the hall as six of them lined each wall. Hand-crafted marble tiles lined the floors with tiny bits of violet and maroon stones embedded within them. Escutcheon-shaped windows reminiscent to that of a medieval period filtered the bright sunlight into the building while a marvelous chandelier adorned with hundreds of smaller crystals captured the light reflecting it over the room in an encompassing hue.

However, the architectural works of art could not be appreciated as their allure was dulled by the countless numbers of cots and hay beds sprawled out around the floor.

"Hey, Elizabeth."

Mirajane had called out to their acquaintance as she keenly noted the heavy ambience in the air.

"Do you know anything about the hound that tried to attack you?"

Elizabeth involuntarily shivered once more at the reminder of the fire hound. She could still distinctly remember its terrifying visage mere inches away from her person and mere seconds away from ending her right there and then.

"Sorry, Miss Mirajane I don't." She admitted ashamed for not having any helpful information. "But I think I know someone who does."

Men and boys of all ages traversed through the building, an aura of aimlessness, hopelessness, and defeat wafting and spreading through the building like a dense fog.

Brought further into the building's interior by Elizabeth, the Fairy Tail team approached a large rectangular table sat situated within the center of the room. Stationed at the head, a fairly young man well into his late twenties sat alone with his head held in between his hands, his morale utterly crushed.

Kazuki Sanada, twenty-seven years of age and Marigold's current mayor, possessed Marigold's most influential seat yet had no power in their situation.

The mayor had combed well maintained coffee brown hair with small streaks of gray, an indication of constant stress. A pair of wire-rimmed rectangle-shaped glasses sat on the creases of his forehead as the main lifted them up to rub the bridge of his nose as a means to mitigate his growing headache.

Despite the otherwise lifeless atmosphere, Elizabeth marched on ahead unfettered with the brightest smile in the room upon encountering a familiar face she hadn't seen in a while.

"Kazuki! Kazuki!"

Kazuki's bloodshot and tired eyes moved towards the source of the familiar voice as he managed to give Elizabeth a forced smile despite the dire state of affairs.

"Elizabeth, I thought I told you not to wander off. It's dangerous outside especially for you."

Elizabeth's facial features scrunched up into an annoyed yet adorable frown as she stuck her tongue out at Marigold's most respected individual.

"Kazuki if you keep acting like an old man you're going to become one in no time! You're always so busy with your work that you haven't even met a girl to date!"

Kazuki chuckled, a nostalgic and lighthearted warmth gently lifting away the heavy burdens on his shoulders. Elizabeth and he had always interacted like this. The girl didn't have many friends at their town's orphanage due to the difference in age as she was several years older than the rest of the children.

Ironically, he didn't have many friends either as he was often considered too young amongst his fellow co-workers and staff.

Somehow their friendship just seemed to work. It was funny how the world worked sometimes.

The young mayor's smile became less forced as he rested his cheek into the palm of his hand, his almond eyes reflecting nothing short of amusement at the verbal jab.

"Oh? Is that so? Does this mean you've finally found a boy I can marry you off to?"

"Kazuki!" Elizabeth cried aloud, cheeks flushed a dark crimson.

Kazuki's reaction was to fully laugh aloud at the girl's expense as he wiped away stray tears of mirth.

"I'm sorry I was just joking. Anyway, is there something you needed?"

"We'd like to know the nature of your request."

Kazuki's attention was taken and refocused onto Mirajane who had been the one to speak. His eyes widened by a significant degree upon noticing that he did not recognize her as a familiar face leading his mind to believe that she was a mage who had undertaken the SOS he had sent out. His elation nearly tripled upon seeing an additional wizard standing behind her.

"I seriously hope that I'm not wrong, but would you two happen to be the mages who accepted the job request?" Kazuki asked, an underlying sense of hopefulness lacing his tone.

"That's us." Naruto spoke, a grin that spoke volumes of his trust in his own abilities marking his features after witnessing the exchange between the mayor and orphan.

Kazuki nearly jumped for joy as this was the best news he had heard in a very, _very_ long time. Standing up from his seat, he shook Mira's hand before shaking Naruto's as well.

"There is so much to cover that I don't even know where to start." He breathlessly spoke, excitement mixing in with elation inside his chest.

Mirajane exchanged a glance with Naruto, as if silently requesting to take the lead to which the shinobi readily acquiesced to her wishes. "So it seems, but I would venture to guess that this town is being terrorized by a demon, isn't it? That's why the women in this town are missing like you stated on the job flier."

Elizabeth and Kazuki's eyes widened, the former due to the fact that this was her first time hearing about such a thing while the latter's reason was due to the fact that he hadn't disclosed any information about that in his request to anyone other than the adults in Marigold, yet it somehow came into the light within minutes after the mages' arrival.

"Judging by your reaction, I'm going to assume Mira just hit the nail on the head here."

In response to Naruto's statement of confirmation, Kazuki could only nod in a solemn manner surprising Elizabeth even further.

A hollow ghost of a smile spread across his lips as Kazuki looked towards Mirajane who originally wanted nothing more than for her suspicion to be false. The mayor took his glasses off of his head and held them by their temples.

"How did you come to that conclusion so quickly?"

Mirajane extended and held out the palm of her hand drawing both Kazuki and Elizabeth's attention as they blinked at the seemingly normal appendage.

Before they could question the purpose Mira's action held, their mouths instantly clammed up as the same particles of violet etherano that she absorbed from the fire hound emitted themselves into the air around them.

"I'm a demon soul takeover mage and one of my specialties is absorbing demon particles." Mirajane explained elaborating on the true nature of the specks of magic exiting her hand. "We ran into a demon familiar that was a low tier creation which is why I believed that there was a stronger master responsible for all of this. It was some type of hound that Naruto killed before it hurt Elizabeth."

Kazuki's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets as his head whipped towards Elizabeth's location.

"Elizabeth! I've told you countless times that it's dangerous outside! Why didn't you say anything about this!?"

As Kazuki raised his voice, Elizabeth flinched before looking downwards towards the floor, eyes averted out of shame. "I... I just wanted to help you calm down... You've been up since yesterday so I wanted to find those flowers you always loved to help you relax. I-I'm sor—"

Before she could finish her apology, she was stopped upon being engulfed in a tight hug, her face resting against Kazuki's shoulder as the man's face reflected nothing but regret. Regret for lashing out, regret for his incapability to resolve this situation on his own, and regret for keeping the truth away from Elizabeth.

"No, I'm sorry. You don't have anything to apologize for." He softly murmured into the girl's ear.

Naruto and Mirajane watched the public display of affection while exchanging uncomfortable glances with one another. A silent mental message went back and forth between the two regarding the need for them to be intruding upon a moment like this.

"Hey..." Naruto began as he awkwardly cleared his throat. "We're going to take a look around and just let us know when—"

"No, it's fine. I should have just shared the full story with you two since the beginning."

Kazuki had spoken with tribulation while still holding Elizabeth, his tone heavily laced with disdain and deep-seated regret. Standing up to his full height while returning his glasses back to their rightful position on his face, Kazuki readjusted the location of the nose pads while giving his full, undivided attention towards the Fairy Tail wizards.

"The reason why the women of this town are missing is because they were all taken."

Marigold's esteemed mayor received two identical reactions from two different people. Neither of the two exactly seemed pleased.

"The only reason Elizabeth is still with us right now is because she was wandering around the forests when that monster arrived."

The venomous tone that Kazuki had hatefully spoken with was enough to rattle even the townsmen who were close by, the chilling tone unbefitting to a benevolent mayor like Kazuki.

"For once, her not listening to me actually was a good thing." He humorlessly chuckled. "If she had actually listened, she would have been taken by Sitri, just like the rest."

"Sitri? Is that the name of the demon?"

Giving a nod to the shinobi's question, a grim disparity arose within Kazuki's hazel-brown eyes as he folded his hands together in front of his face.

"If there were to be a physical representation for the word monster, that _thing_ would be it. Whatever he desired he took, and whatever was left… he burned."

 **Marigold's Skies**

Soaring across the tranquil calm sea of blue that comprised the sky while mercilessly tearing apart any benign clouds that dared to roll onto his path, a demonic humanoid flew down from its mountain with its destination clearly laid below it.

Donning a royal blue and white button-up overcoat over its form as a means to represent high status as a demon, the tainted being possessed a cape that fluttered in the wind behind him while two jets of searing hot flames from its feet propelled him forward at vision-blurring speeds as long blackened hair reminiscent to that of ash whipped around wildly in the winds behind it

"Those stupid fools… and after I went through the trouble of threatening to burn their whole town to ashes while violating my captives if they put up any signs of resistance. Did they honestly think I wouldn't notice the death of one my familiars?"

Sitri smirked to himself, a creepy and pleased chuckle leaving his lips while his incandescent amber eyes glimmered with an inhuman light.

"Well, it's not like I wasn't going to do either of those things eventually. I want to get this over with as soon as possible so I can break in the first one." he cackled.

Fiery wisps of malevolent orange danced across his fingertips, colluding into a single conflagration, before it was crushed within Sitri's grip.

Finding the miserable humans' central base of operations, Sitri touched down landing in crouch before standing to his full two meters in height.

"Humans!"

The demon of fire took great pleasure in watching the pathetic beings scramble like ants having their colony attacked. In mere seconds, nearly the entire human settlement that remained in Marigold stood before him, their mayor standing at the forefront.

However, Sitri's eyes were drawn towards the young girl at his side like a magnet.

" _Strange. I thought that I had ordered them to hand over all the women of this village._ "

Eyeing Elizabeth's frightened form intently, the demonic being smirked nonetheless.

" _I'll take her as well and let her grow until she's ripe for the picking…_ "

"What do you want, Sitri?!"

"Give us back our daughters!"

"Return my wife!"

A deep, throaty chuckle reverberated from the depths of Sitri's chest as he brought his hand back before unleashing a towering wall of fire that divided himself from the trash before him. As the bastion of flame and ash died down, his intent of silencing the pitiable fools before him succeeded as his voice rang out over the hushed murmurs and whispers.

"It seems you people are quite mistaken. My presence here is your recompense for retaliation, humans."

"What are you talking about, Sitri? We've done everything that you asked of us, what more could you possibly want?" Kazuki questioned, a tone of calm composure belying one of suppressed rage.

Sitri's lips, touched with amusement, quirked themselves upwards in a sinister sneer.

"Did you honestly think a supreme demon such as I wouldn't notice the death of one of my hell hounds? The life force I shared with them returns to me upon their expiration and since one of your men took the life of one of my subordinates it is only proper I be compensated."

Resentment and anger rose to an all-time high among the ranks of men crowding in front of the City Hall. The sheer tone of condescension and arrogance that Sitri spoke with belittled them with each decibel that left his lips.

"Fortunately, I am feeling somewhat generous today, so I will let you off with a _light_ punishment."

With a snap of his fingers the cinders that remained from his previous display of power roared to life once more into a large pillar of pure flame. Within the core of the conflagration burned a great white light while the outer edges exuded a brightly colored orange pigment.

Pointing a sharp finger towards Kazuki, Sitri's grin, touched with madness and depravity, widened with tangible delight dancing in his corrupt amber orbs.

"Walk through my flames and all will be forgiven."

Loud bellows of defiance and anger were Sitri's response before they were immediately quelled by a raised hand from Kazuki.

The mayor's eyes gained a hard look to them as he stared unperturbed in the face of a demon.

"And if I refuse?"

Sitri smiled, the deceptively benevolent expression accompanied by his closed eyes created a facade of kindness and charity.

"Then I'll slaughter everyone here right now."

Kazuki glanced over his shoulders, his gaze meeting those of his fellow townspeople one by one drawing a deep sigh from his chest.

They had played right into his hands.

Everyone was far too close to evade an attack which would snuff out at least half of them. As his weary hazel eyes scanned through the crowd, they slightly widened upon finding Mirajane within the crowd, her disposition and expression calm and relaxed.

" _Does she have a plan?_ " Kazuki wondered. " _And where is the second one?_ "

Kazuki's jaw tightened. No, those two were Marigold's best and only shot at liberating the hostages and freeing the town from Sitri's terror. He should— no he would place his life in their hands. Everything was riding on him at this very moment.

Meanwhile, Sitri's smile turned into a downright confident sneer. Everything was falling within his plan.

"What's the matter, oh honorable mayor? Can you not sacrifice yourself for the good of your men? How cru—"

"No, it's fine." Kazuki responded firm and resolute. "I'll do it."

Sitri's eyes momentarily widened as this was not the response he had anticipated. The corners of his lips tugged themselves into a frown. " _This bastard…_ "

"Mayor, don't do it!"

"We can fight him together!"

As Kazuki took his first step forward towards the raging inferno, a smaller hand grabbed onto his and tugged his back. Looking back, the mayor found that it belonged to Elizabeth.

"You can't…" she barely whispered.

Kazuki smiled as he knelt down and stroked her hair in a comforting manner.

"It'll be okay."

"Hey, little girl." Sitri called out damnably smiling all the while. "Are you perhaps fond of this town's mayor?"

Kazuki narrowed a glare towards Sitri, yet the question had been raised towards Elizabeth who nevertheless answered.

"He's my friend." she steadily declared mustering as much of an intimidating glare as a 13 year old could.

"Then if you would like to save him, I do not mind sparing him as long as you come with me."

Kazuki's hazel eyes, usually filled with warmth and kindness, dissolved all pretenses of such feelings ever existing as they lit up in uncontained fury. "Go to hell, you monster! I'd rather slice my own throat if it meant keeping Elizabeth from you!"

"And who is to stop me from slaughtering you where you stand and taking her for myself?" Sitri retorted in kind, amber eyes glowing with lust directed towards Elizabeth.

Holding out his hand as a small cluster of wisps combined into a single large flame, Sitri prepared to smite the majority of the remaining populace with extreme prejudice.

Except…

"DYNAMIC ENTRY!"

… for the sudden foot that smashed into the side of his head, the heel of the limb containing the most of the explosive force as it pulverized Sitri's jaw while temporarily blowing out his eardrum.

The demon being's body crashed straight through the side of a house before continuing to plow through at least two more.

As Naruto Uzumaki landed on the ground with the nimbleness of a cat, he immediately winced upon seeing the demon shaped holes that now decorated three houses.

"Ooh, damn. Whose houses were those?"

Among the crowd of townspeople, three hands were raised into the air causing the shinobi to nervously chuckle.

"Sorry about that."

"It's fine. I'm just glad you gave the bastard what he deserves."

"Same here."

"I was planning on renovating anyway."

In a sudden turn of events, the third house Sitri had crashed into became engulfed into a firestorm from hell. Plaster and concrete practically disintegrating while stone turned to tar and molten rock.

"Kazuki?"

"Yeah, I know Jim I'll help pay for it…"

Rising from the burnt remains of the home, Sitri wore an expression that spoke volumes of just how pissed he was. Flecks of flame fell from his unholy majesty as two jets of fire elevated him up into the air. His features sported a heavily purple indent in the shape of a sandal.

His face sported a fist-shaped indent colored purple on the demon's fair colored cheeks while Sitri's amber eyes were livid, widened with absolute fury and hate, as they searched for the interloper among the crowd.

" **Who dares…?** "

"Over here, big guy."

Amber eyes snapped towards cerulean in an instant, a cunning mind burning the image of the insect that dared to oppose him into its memory permanently.

"I'm going to have to ask you to remain 50 meters away from Eliza— wait scratch that. 100 meters away from all children everywhere."

Sitri's lips twisted themselves upwards into a cruel and malicious smile at the sheer gall the man before him possessed.

"And may I ask for the name of bug that I'm about to squash?"

"Sorry, but my grandmother always taught me to stay away from creepy old men. That said though..."

Pushing the flow of his chakra towards his legs like a spring, Naruto leaped into the air, launching off the ground like a missile, and appeared directly in front of Sitri in the blink of an eye. His fist was already cocked back with the demon finally reacting to the shinobi's presence.

"She also had her own ways of dealing with messed up perverts like you."

Feeling the flow of chakra rush upwards from his legs to his torso, Naruto felt the primordial power coalesce within the knuckles of his right hand surging straight through his bones.

However, Sitri had not climbed up the ranks of his fellow demons spilling his share of blood and obtaining his experiences along the way.

Through sheer battle-honed instinct, Sitri raised up his left arm to defend his face from the mysterious human's attack.

Clenching his fist tightly as his inner chakra created a nigh invisible shell around it, Naruto sucked in a breath of air as he unleashed a hammering right hook that drilled into the demon's forearm.

The blow from the ordinary human broke through Sitri's makeshift block with crushing force as it snapped the bones in the demon's arm with an audible snap like a pencil.

A pained scream of agony tore through the air before it was immediately silenced by the same fist whose momentum continued to carry it right into the same spot the shinobi had punched before. The aftereffect of the hit rocketed Sitri back to earth as he smashed into the ground.

There was a simple logic behind fighting when it came to being a shinobi. If your opponent excelled in taijutsu, then your only option was to outwit them with either genjutsu or ninjutsu. Similarly, if an opponent specialized in ninjutsu, then naturally your primary options were to beat them with the other two facets that comprised being a ninja.

However when you physically outmatched your opponent by leagues in terms of raw power and speed? What was the point of flashy ninjutsu or illusions when all you needed are two hands and maybe something pointy?

There was a reason he was a kick-ass ninja.

Speaking of something pointy...

Protruding out from the palm of his hand in a manner similar to that of Kimimaro, the deceased remnant of the Kaguya, a glowing kunai emerged into Naruto's grasp as gravity allowed him to chuck the ninja tool cleanly through Sitri's shoulder pinning him to the ground while eliciting a howl of pain.

A faint blue hue of energy covered the metallic tool like an ephemeral carapace as Sitri's blood formed a shallow pool within the crater he inhabited.

His amber eyes widened as a pair of cerulean ones, calm to an abnormal degree, continued to shorten the distance between them at rapid speeds.

"S-Stop it! If you kill me, my hounds will kill all my hostages before you find them!"

Sitri's words gave the demon his desired edge. It was an opening. A momentary lapse in the yellow-haired human's brain, a slight hesitation, was all he needed to turn the tables.

Naruto had been less than five meters away with the intent of finishing off Sitri as soon as possible before he abruptly shifted his body weight to land further away than originally intended.

Before his sandals had even touched the ground, Sitri enveloped himself in a firestorm that formed a protective pyre of pure flame around him while expanding outwards.

The nearby crowd yelled in panic as they backed away from the sheer heat of the encroaching fire. The remaining townsmen of Marigold would have been cooked if it were not for the timely intervention of Fairy Tail's running contender for strongest woman.

Gathering her magic as she was covered in a malevolent violet light, Mirajane emerged from the demonic aura drastically altered in appearance. Her ivory hair defied gravity standing upwards while she donned a revealing maroon body suit.

Holding her hands out in front of her, a translucent screen of purple etherano coalesced into a spherical barrier wall that encompassed the civilians as it entirely blocked out Sitri's attempt at roasting the normal humans alive.

By the time the blazing tower died down into embers and ash, Sitri was nowhere to be found.

With four ends stabbed into the ground forming a pyramid-shaped shield, Naruto's adamantium chains receded back into the ground to reveal the shinobi unscathed, yet severely aggravated.

" _I can't believe I let him get away._ "

" **Hehehehehehehe…** "

Naruto felt a shiver scramble up his spine as the gravely, unnerving laughter rattled out from the furthest corners of his mind. The source known, but the reasons behind such a diabolical laugh not.

" _What's with you, Kurama?"_

" **The fleshbag escaped with your kunai still lodged into him. I can still feel our chakra clearly…** "

" _Okay, that's great, but why are you laughing._ "

" **Because I'm the one who's going to hunt the little bastard down. The nerve that fledgling has to assume himself as a supreme demon is an insult to my pride.** " the nine-tailed Kyuubi madly grinned. " **I may have despised that label your kind once gave me, but it was a title truly earned by the sheer power my brethren possessed. The presence of just one of us earned the ire of an entire nation, and this Sitri dares to put us on the same level as he threatens a mere colony? I refuse to let this farce stand, and besides you're not a sensor ninja, Naruto. I sincerely doubt you'll want to use your chakra mode either in front of all these people since you decided you wanted to lay low for now.** "

Naruto internally laughed noting how his vulpine partner had not only stuck him in between a rock and a hard place; he had literally smashed the boulders into him for good measure.

" _And you're not saying this just because you went to take control and let loose for a bit, right?_ "

" **...** "

He was truly the most fickle tailed beast of the nine. The amount of logic Kurama was capable of manipulating and twisting into his favor, or rather the sheer length that Kurama would bullshit reason to suit his own personal desires according to Naruto, was impressive as it was absurd. The massive fox entity was persistent in his goals and would get there come hell or high water.

It was also why they made an excellent team.

"... _Fine, just don't go overboard, ya bastard fox…_ "

" **Kehe, wouldn't dream of it** ~"

Meanwhile outside, Mirajane surveyed her surroundings one last time before deeming it was safe once more. Deactivating her barrier, she felt a slight twinge of anxiety come over her as she was reminded of the trauma of her past.

Whispers and murmurs bombarded her from all sides as the people she protected slowly became instilled with fear in the face of her Takeover.

It was to be expected of course given its nature, but that didn't make it any less humiliating. She had always been repulsed by her own power as well which is why she was never able to fight to her fullest extent with other people watching.

No, if anything she would not crack under the weight of her own emotional burdens especially on a mission like this.

" **Oi, what are you meatbags gawking at? We ain't a side show.** " 'Naruto' barked, his rough and grizzled voice startling even grown men.

Bewildered by the dramatic shift in tone originating from the gentle mannered blond, the townsmen shifted their gazes towards the approaching Fairy Tail member whose appearance suddenly changed.

Crimson red orbs stared back into their own rattling the very bones that comprised their spines. Sharpened animalistic features grew more prominent upon the shinobi's face as his new appearance just screamed dangerous.

" **Fortify the surrounding areas and make preparations to put out any fires in case the enemy tries something.** "

"Y-Yes sir!"

And just like that, grown men who had previously believed that Sitri possessed the title of the most terrifying thing they ever encountered shifted those beliefs in a matter of seconds after meeting the eyes of this mysterious stranger just once.

The inhumane glimmer within those bloody orbs didn't just make them feel uncomfortable, no more accurately; it made them feel as if they were being _hunted_. As if they were no longer humans, but meek animals waiting to be picked off and devoured.

One command was more than enough to kick their rears into gear as they all rushed towards Marigold's storehouse to start building barricades while others dashed towards the well to start preparing anti-fire measures.

Nodding in satisfaction seeing as how he hadn't lost his touch, Kurama with control of Naruto's body turned on his heel and began walking towards the lake beside Marigold, his target heading off to the mountains on the other side. Before he could use the body flicker technique known by practically all shinobi, he was halted by his wary teammate who placed herself in front of his path while still in her takeover.

Her mistrustful sky blue gaze had not left his frame once.

Mirajane was the only one in this town who had spent enough time with Naruto to know what he was like personality-wise, but this most definitely not him. It was just… something.

"Who are you...?" she quietly questioned not wanting any nearby ears to pick up on their conversation.

" **What are you doing?** " Naruto questioned, his tone dripping with hardly suppressed annoyance. There was no panic or sharpened edge to his pupils indicating he was ready to move her by force. Those vertically slitted pupils of endless black were bored as if considering the human before them a mere nuisance and nothing more.

"You're not going anywhere until I get an answer." she firmly responded demonic magic at the ready.

" **And if I said this doesn't concern a brat like you and Naruto's perfectly fine? You're getting in my way for an insignificant reason.** "

Mira's glower only grew as violet sparks of electricity jumped across her fingertips that remained hidden beneath her crossed arms.

"Then, _Kitty_ , I would kindly tell you to it does concern me considering Naruto is a member of my guild and my friend."

Kurama's eyes widened at the blatant disrespect towards his appearance while a vein bulged out beneath the fringe of his spiky yellow hair. The fact that he could hear the howling laughter of the real Naruto in the back of his mind after switching did little to quell his volatile temperament.

" **Hehehehehehehe…** " he began to lowly chuckle.

The basic expression of humor did not calm Mirajane's misgivings about the… person in front of her. As her eyes swept around them while preparing to take Naruto out of the town while preventing any property damage, her mind came to a crashing halt as the low chuckles of the crimson-eyed Naruto evolved into outright laughter.

" **Bahahahahahahahaha!** **Oh, this is too good! You're a gutsy one, you know that?** "

'Naruto' started walking once more aiming to move past Mirajane before she regained her composure and moved to intercept yet again.

"Sto—"

 _Step._

Mirajane froze at the lone audible sound of 'Naruto's' footstep, In the single moment she blinked, the head of blond hair and blue eyes she had grown so accustomed to vanished before her eyes with the sound of his voice being the sole indicator as to where had had gone.

" **But that doesn't mean I'll let you get in my way, human.** "

Whirling around in an instant, Mira's years of experience allowed her to discern the direction 'Naruto' had decided to head off to before he disappeared in a blur.

Sprouting a pair of wings from her upper shoulder blades, Mirajane kicked off the ground exploding into supersonic flight, shattering a few nearby windows from the sudden breaking of the sound barrier.

Soaring high into the sky breaking apart a few stray clouds, she floated in the vast sea of light blue eyes searching for the whereabouts of Fairy Tail's newest member. Her gaze locked onto a speeding projectile moving towards the lake before she dive bombed directly downwards towards object. It didn't take long until she caught up to her runaway partner who appeared to be… running on water?

Okay, that was something new to file under the ever growing folder of things she did NOT know about Naruto.

Descending to a lower altitude, Mirajane got in close until she was neck and neck with her yellow-haired compatriot, the clear water beneath them moving so fast that it barely managed to capture their respective reflections while her sky blue glare bored a hole into the side of his head.

" **Oh look at that, you caught up**." Kurama congratulated, voice dripping with indifference. " **You still haven't given up yet?** "

Expression partially strained in effort as she was not used to flying at speeds like this for long periods of time, Mirajane managed to keep up the pace while still managing to find it in her to snap back at… whoever this was.

"That's something a PARTNER is expected to do!"

Kurama let out a bark of laughter at the heavy emphasis placed on the word directing a boastful smirk towards his 'partner' who was having a very difficult time keeping up with him if the troubled expression of hers was anything to go by.

This was a mere drop in the bucket for him.

" **A 'partner' who can't even accept her powers as part of her is of no use to me**. **"**

Pushing in a decent amount of chakra towards his legs, 'Naruto' began to pull away from a stunned Mira who swiftly regained her focus and sped up as well.

"What do you… mean by that?" Mira grunted, howling winds beating against her face while inhibiting her ability to speak.

As she felt her speed begin to die down, she came to a sudden halt slamming right into Naruto who had stopped after reaching the bank on the other side of the lake.

Since he had stopped directly on the edge, Mira rebounded off of him landing rear end first into the cold water.

Realizing that she had been so focused on Naruto that she failed to realize they had already reached the other side of the expansive lake, Mira shook off the dizziness plaguing her vision like a cloud after what felt like running head first right into a boulder.

Speaking of said boulder…

As the haziness left her sight, she stared wide-eyed at an infuriatingly apathetic crimson-eyed Naruto who stared down at her from his feet.

How in the hell had he not budged a single inch after being rammed into like that?

" **You're afraid.** " he plainly spoke. " **When you protected those flesh bags and the dust cleared away, I felt all kinds of things just pouring off of you.** "

Crouching down so that he was eye level with a panting Mirajane, still sitting in the water, his primal and disinterested eyes locked stares with meek blue.

" **I can sense and feel all kinds of negative emotions from anyone. Anger, hate, sadness, I felt all of these coming from you but you know what outweighed all of those emotions combined?** "

Nothing she was conscious yet unable to respond to such a revelation, Kurama continued without care towards her shocked state of mind.

" **The answer is fear. Fear for the safety of your family, fear for disappointing Naruto, but there's nothing you fear more than yourself. You're so terrified of your own power because you think if you embrace it people will come to fear and abandon you.** "

Standing up to his full height once more, the sounds of Naruto's footsteps began to draw further and further away from Mirajane's hearing as her gaze fell towards the water beneath her. There staring back at her was her reflection, demon and all. The wild untamable hair, scaly arms and tail, and hideous wings were all visible along with an unreadable expression portraying her features.

" **You may come close to using your full power when you train with Naruto, but out here in front of the rest of the world? You've handicapped and prevented yourself from using your full strength out of fear for being rejected by your own fellow wizards and people you don't even know. You aren't even certain if you can defeat the threat before you, so tell me why I should listen to some human brat who refuses to fight with anything less than her best?** "

Mirajane could not help but avert her gaze. Naruto— no whoever this was unraveled her very being just from the first meeting. The mere predatory gaze of his peeled away her layers like an onion reaching the very core of her being as if it was second nature.

But even so…

Her fist clenched itself tightly, the knuckles on fingers turning white as the flow of blood within them was altered. She hated this. Being treated as a problem child and nuisance was not only an insult, it was pathetic.

Sucking in a deep breath, Mira exhaled calmly, her voice not displaying the roiling turbulence of emotions within her heart.

"... And if I do?"

'Naruto's' footsteps halted, his crimson orbs glancing over their owner's shoulders to regard the human wizard before them.

" **What?** "

Taking another deep breath, Mira stood up to her feet, firm and resolute, and stared unintimidated by the monstrous being before her.

"If I do fully accept my power, and up being rejected by everyone around me, then what?"

For the first time since they spoke, Kurama's eyes regarded her with a sense of genuine surprise and slight respect. If he were to close his eyes and look into his mind, he would see his one-in-a-million partner grinning as stupidly as always back at him.

Crossing his arms over his chest, 'Naruto' grinned with pride revealing several elongated canines protruding from the top row of his teeth, his persona resembling that of a vulpine entity rather than a human.

" **Then at least you'll still have us. Naruto would never abandon a person over something as trivial as this and in my opinion you're…** "

Kurama paused, internally mulling over the words in his mind given just how foreign they tasted on his lips. God, there must have been something weird this place was doing to him.

" **... You're not so bad I guess…?** "

Phew, he actually got that one out. Old man Hagoromo would have been proud.

Mirajane on the other hand simply stared in return unclear as to whether that was a compliment or an insult. Of course this was also in addition to the fact that if Naruto and this person's continual presence after she was hypothetically discarded by everyone else was supposed to be a reassurance.

Noticing her rather unimpressed stare, Kurama growled before stamping on the ground with one foot and turning back on his heel although in a slightly different direction.

" **Grah~, on a second thought I changed my mind. You fight Sitri.** "

Breaking out of her cloudy-minded stupor from Kurama's words, Mirajane gaped wide eyed at the sudden impetuous decision made by 'Naruto'.

"Wait, what?! Then what are you going to be doing?!""

" **Isn't it obvious?** " Kurama responded staring back at her as if the answer was simple. " **I'm gonna go rescue the hostages there's bound to be at least 1000 of those mutts guarding them.** "

"But don't you want to fight Sitri? He's obviously the bigger threat here." Mirajane argued.

Waving his hand in a nonchalant manner over his shoulder, Kurama continued his saunter forwards while still deeming his partner with a response.

" **Trash is trash. If I'm gonna fight trash either way, I might as well take on the most.** "

Stunned by such a straightforward dismissal of the threat Sitri posed, Mira swallowed a lump that had formed in her throat before remembering to ask one final thing.

"Just one more thing... Is Naruto actually safe? Who are you really?"

Truthfully, the ivory-haired beauty had expected 'Naruto' to keep walking and ignore her. From his attitude and the way he spoke, this mission was nothing more than a way to pass off the time and stave his boredom. She had never expected him to actually stop mid-step in response to her inquiry.

" **I'd rather keep this as simple as possible, so you can just think of this as something similar to your takeover.** " Kurama answered, a prideful smirk making its way across his features. " **Except better of course.** "

Mira released a breath that did not realize she had been holding. Okay, so Naruto was truly safe. That was one heavy load off her shoulders.

" **Oh, and by the way.** "

"Y-Yes?" Mirajane answered in haste as she looked up once again.

" **Just call me Fox**."

With nothing else to say, the yellow haired shinobi left in the blink of an eye, the only proof that he had ever been there being the small updraft of leaves left by the wind.

 **Somewhere along the Mountainside**

" _She's interesting isn't she?_ "

Kurama snorted as he kicked the side of yet another tree propelling him even further and higher up the mountain with a clear destination already in mind. His partner and true owner of the body he was currently possessing had been grinning within the confines of his own mind ever since the S-Class beauty stood her ground against Kurama's terrifying personality.

" **What? Are you looking for my approval in a mate?** "

" _Oi! Don't turn this into something it's not!_ "

The strongest of the nine smirked hearing the flustered undertone to his partner's voice.

" _Besides, you like her too. Don't even try to deny it._ "

Kurama released a gravelly bark of laughter. " **She's the second.** "

" _The second?_ " Naruto repeated confusion lacing the repetition. " _What do you mean?_ "

Stopping on a particularly sturdy branch, Kurama looked to his side where the adjacent mountain lay. Closing his eyes in concentration, he could feel Mirajane closing in on Sitri's location at the landmass's summit.

It seemed she also had her own method of tracking down the demonic fledgling. It probably had something to do with their similar types of magic.

Opening his eyes once more, his typically predatory orbs had gained a tinge of softness to them. Nostalgia washing over them like a sweeping ocean wave. Even now they still remembered the moment they came into the world, greeted by the sight of the one who would become their father and caretaker.

" **She's the second human to see me as something other than a 'demon' or 'monster' after meeting me. There's something special about that human.** "

Naruto chuckled as well cracking a wistful smile as well. " _Don't you mean third?_ "

" **Nope, definitely the second.** "

And just like that any traces or vestiges of warmth and happy memories vanished as Kurama continued his trek up the mountain.

" _Wha—_ "

" **For the first three years after meeting me, you thought you had a demonic monster living in your gut**. **That already makes Mirajane better than you in my book.** "

" _Oh come on! You were a total asshole for the first three years I knew you! You don't even have a book either!_ "

" **So that justifies racism? Boy, if your mother was here she'd be SO disappointed in you**."

Kurama couldn't contain the broad grin expressing uncontrollable delight upon hearing the infuriated cries, shouts, and curses of his partner within their shared mindscape. Some of things Naruto said Kurama swore would make a sailor blush in embarrassment.

Where he learned such language he would never know.

" _You know what? Fuck you! I'll just take a piss in your pond and see how you like tha—_ "

" **So why didn't you interrupt me, brat?** "

Putting his rant of frustration on hold, Naruto huffed in annoyance before regaining his bearings once again.

" _What do you mean?_ "

" **You could have easily taken control again when I tore into Mira about her holding back. You knew it too, so why didn't you say anything?** "

Waiting within the place that once used to be a sewer, Naruto sat against the trunk of a lush and verdant tree, the back of his head resting within one of the smooth grooves of the bark.

"To be honest, I didn't think she would listen _because_ it was coming from me." he answered before continuing. "Like you said, she's fine with showing most of what she has in training against me, but there's no point if she doesn't do it against actual threats. That's why I thought letting her hear it from someone, with absolutely no sense of delicacy or sensitivity, would get her to branch out a bit more, y'know? "

Kurama stewed in his thoughts, pondering over his jinchuriki's words and the rationale behind his reasoning. While it was true that Mirajane had yet to fully break through her shell, it made sense to have a little outside help in breaking the outer carapace.

He suddenly blinked in realization.

Wait…

" **Did you just use me as a mean teacher so you wouldn't have to?** "

"... 'Use' is a really strong word. I prefer taking advantage of a rare opportunity."

The son of the fourth Hokage held a baited breath waiting for the nearing explosion of outrage from his partner.

However, it would never come.

Kurama had actually stopped moving on the outside, an authentic expression of sheer shock and stupefaction. Naruto Uzumaki, the same loudmouthed, idiotic, and dense as a brick shinobi, had actually USED him!

" **O-Oi, you actually used your head to think this much? You're gonna get a fever…** "

"... Coming from someone who never thought about learning the one jutsu that kept him sealed away for over 200 years, you are the ONLY person who doesn't get to say that to me."

The nine-tailed kitsune suddenly stopped as his senses finally led him to the motherlode of all negative emotions in this waterhole of a village. Hiding his presence within the tree's canopy, he looked downwards towards his target.

When Kurama had said he was expecting at least 1000 of Sitri's hell hounds, one could imagine his immense disappointment upon only being met with one guarding a hidden mountainside entrance.

Standing on a nearby tree branch hidden within the shrubbery, the Kyuubi's crimson eyes looked down from their perch, disappointment weighing heavily behind them at the sight of a single dog.

There was no doubt that the hostages from Marigold were being held here.

He could practically smell the fear and despair wafting in the air.

From what he had gleaned about the mutts from Naruto's past exchange with Sitri, the demon's familiars functioned in a manner similar to the shadow clones in the regard that the moment they perished their master would become aware of it immediately.

Therefore as soon as he started, Kurama would not stop until either the hounds were all dead or the hostages were all set free.

" _Hey, let me take over for a sec._ "

Kurama grunted in surprise as he was suddenly yanked from the outside world and back into his and Naruto's shared mindscape.

" **What the hell?!** "

" _Stop whining for a second and let me focus, furball_."

With control of his body once more, Naruto created his signature cross-shaped seal as an identical clone burst to life beside him.

Naruto let out a sigh as he felt roughly half the chakra in his body leave him after splitting it equally into two. While there was still an ungodly amount dwelling within his real body, that didn't mean he couldn't feel the drain.

"Hey, do me a favor and let the giant fuzzy take over for now, would you?"

"You got it boss." the clone replied as it gave a one-handed salute.

The shinobi's copy closed its eyes and when it reopened them they were revealed to be the signature red of the Kyuubi.

" **Oi, what the hell is this? I wanted to take on the dogs by myself**."

"And you will." Naruto responded eyes not leaving the cave's entrance. "I'm just here to do search and rescue while you take care of the hounds."

Kurama's creased brows relaxed slightly after hearing Naruto's intentions but he still had another grievance to complain about.

"But why do I have to have the clone body?' he grumbled.

Naruto adopted a smug grin as a retort. "What? You afraid these things are gonna score a lucky hit and dispel you?"

"... **You're a little prick, y'know that?** "

As Kurama prepared to jump down and raise all kinds of hell, he stopped himself as a fist belonging to Naruto was held outwards towards him.

Looking towards the owner and his partner, Kurama was met by his partner's familiar jubilant grin that he had grown accustomed to during their time together.

"Good to have you back with me, partner."

A smirk donned itself upon the fox in human form's features as his fist collided against Naruto's.

" **It's good to be back.** "

 **The Other Mountain**

"God damn it!"

Sitri's bellowed as his fist plowed through the concrete wall of his base of operations sending dust and plaster everywhere onto the nearby rugs. His teeth gnashed together in pure frustration and rage while his amber eyes burned brightly with a transient flame behind them.

Just who the hell had those insects called? Sitri had fought countless demon kin and wizards, but never had he run into someone like him. That yellow-haired man's abilities just weren't human. His speed, his power, and the efficiency at which he could disable him were inconceivable!

Reaching over his shoulder, Sitri let out a hiss of pain as he yanked out the weapon that had been deeply embedded into his shoulder. He hadn't had a single moment of leisure to do so since nearly all his efforts had been focused on fleeing.

The knife made an audible clink as it bounced off the stone tiles of the abandoned church Sitri had taken refuge in after arriving to this region.

His once noble-like features had been sullied by the likes of that man alone! A large, purple fist-shaped bruise was its new defining feature impeding his ability to speak. Grabbing his lower jaw, the demon snapped it back into place with a distinct click as he wondered where it had all gone wrong.

Recalling the moment that he had been awoken by a cult in search for his creator, Sitri remembered just how weak those mages were as he slaughtered them all like flies. He didn't know how long he was asleep, but he didn't care.

His original plan was to slowly build up his power once more through the resources obtained from Marigold, yet this new development had not only thrown a metaphorical wrench in the gears, it had stuck a literal explosive in the gears blowing the whole machine to kingdom come.

Sitri took a deep calming breath as he opened his mind to logic and reason once more, his brain already developing countermeasures for the arrival of the new interlopers.

As far as he knew, there were two wizards. The first had made his overwhelming presence and threat to his (Sitri's) safety abundantly clear. The second he had barely even saw, only sensing the use of his or her magic to create a shield against his fire.

If he could capture the second and take them as a captive, he could neutralize two threats at once!

In addition, he had hostages. As long as he held Marigold's women within the palm of his hand, there would be nothing that either of the two could do to defy him lest they endanger all of them.

Sitri growled muttering to himself in annoyance. "It's a shame, but I'll have to execute one of those sows. Those fools at Marigold think they can go behind my back like this? I'll teach them all a lesson they'll **never** forget."

"Was there even a point to all of this?"

Sitri's gaze snapped towards the decrepit church's entrance and there, standing with a displeased frown upon her lips, was Mirajane Strauss in all her demonic glory.

"A point?"

Sitri began to chuckle, his quiet laughter becoming even madder with each passing moment until it reached its peak in loud, insane cackles.

"Does there have to be a reason for lower life forms to serve their superiors? It has always been the natural way of things, my dear. Humans are nothing more than breeding stock or slaves to do my bidding."

Finally delivered the chance to meet the second outsider hired by Marigold, the demon prince of fire leered at Mirajane, his rotten eyes licking her body all over and lingering on her exposed curves as they took great pleasure at the sight of this one rather than the first.

"You on the other hand are quite different. I find you… ravishing." he chuckled, a sickeningly disgusting avarice glimmering in his eyes. "If you surrender yourself to me, I will release half the hostages in my possession. A fine trade, is it not?"

Mirajane's eyes were shadowed while the corners of her lips tugged themselves upwards into a tight smile. Her hands that remained at her side flexed their fingers experimentally, cracking the joints and ligaments in preparation for what came next.

The action however when unnoticed by a bewitched Sitri whose gaze lingered solely on Mira's… assets.

"Surrender myself?" she repeated, voice as calm as a tranquil pond.

"That's right. I'll even pardon that boorish associate of yours and let him go free."

It was a lie of course. The moment that he revealed an opening after having his teammate captured, Sitri would kill him on the spot. Then again, there would be nothing that a sidekick tag-a-long could do about it.

Mirajane laughed. This was not a chortle of amusement or gaiety, but a derisive laugh of pity for the pathetic creature before her.

Sitri's eyes suddenly widened becoming aware of the sudden danger that now stood in front of him.

"Naruto had it right." she offhandedly said, the particles within the air becoming supercharged with each passing second.

At last beholding the sight of the eyes that were no longer shadowed, Sitri's fiery spirit drained away as his blood ran cold.

With two jagged cracks akin to lightning bolt scars running over her pure white eyes, a pair of super glowing violet pupils penetrated deep into the pit of his soul as sparks of purple energy crackled across the air.

The openings in Mirajane's body suit sealed themselves shut as the light maroon colored material transitioned into a pearlescent dark purple. The scales upon her hands traveled up even higher as they covered her shoulders in their entirety while her wings stretched themselves out even further.

" **You really are a creepy son of a bitch.** "

 **On Naruto's Mountain**

"Gwooooooooh~"

" **Bring it on you stupid dogs!** "

The repeated sounds of footsteps rapidly sprinting down the empty cave corridors were once again drowned out by the reverberations of a rampaging Kurama as he tore through and decimated another pack of hell hounds attacking him.

Naruto who had placed himself in charge of search and rescue sighed at the maddened cackles of glee rebounding off the cave's walls in echoes.

"At least you got what you wanted."

Indeed as soon as they had stepped into the cave after killing the first hound, they were intercepted by several packs of hounds read to rend and flay the jinchuriki and tailed beast's flesh from their bones.

Unfortunately their opponent wasn't a human despite how his appearance looked at the moment. Their opponent was an immortal incarnation of limitless power with a serious alpha complex.

The shinobi lost any concern for his partner's safety and wellbeing the moment he saw the chakra being decapitate a hound with his bare hand while simultaneously crushing the skull of another beneath his foot. He would bet good money that Kurama probably attracted the attention of every other hellhound in the whole freaking cavern.

And so here he was traversing deeper into the depths of the unknown cave that seemed to span far into the mountain's center.

It wasn't long until he reached an area that looked man-made— or in Sitri's case demon-made in comparison to the rest of the cave's natural features. The stone ground was carved into segmented blocks while dense bars of hardened ore comprised cages that lined the walls as they went deeper and deeper into the mountain's cavern.

Within each five meter by five meter cell were at least four to five hostages within them. The shinobi estimated there had to be at least one hundred captives being held based on how far he could see in the dimly lit dungeon.

Naruto halted at the dungeon's entrance while his lips twisted into a tight frown. Thankfully most of the women appeared to be clothed with the garments they had been wearing when they were taken against their will.

As soon as he had entered, his presence had been seen by one citizen in a cage close to the entrance as she immediately notified her fellow captives.

"Look someone's here!"

The women of Marigold, formerly destitute of any hope for salvation, stood up as the light returned to their eyes with a savior standing before them.

The first one to have noticed him ran towards the bars of her cell coming as close to Naruto as possible. The woman appeared to be in her late twenties with chocolate brown hair and mint green eyes. Wearing a slightly dirtied blouse and skirt, her allure was not sullied in the slightest by her grimy surroundings.

"Did Kazuki send you?" she called out over the murmurs, voice filled with elation and relief.

"Yep, Naruto Uzumaki at your service!" Naruto grinned as he slid a kunai into his hand from the black sleeve of his orange and black coat.

Creating a cross-shaped seal while holding weapon in between his thumbs as he did so, the reincarnation of Asura created a small fire team of four clones each wielding a kunai of their own.

"Alright boys let's get to work!"

"Yes, sir!"

Coating the steel edges of their ninja tools with a buzzing blue shade of chakra, Naruto and his clones all gestured for the women standing close to the bars to move away as they cleanly sliced through the metal like butter.

Like a well-oiled machine, they moved down the aisle like a fluid river cutting the locks off the cages or slicing the doors clean off their hinges.

It wouldn't take longer than a minute and by the time they reached the exit Kurama would probably be waiting for them atop a mountainous pile of hellhound corpses beneath him if they hadn't disintegrated already.

"Hey, Boss! How do you think Mira's doing right now?"

Not bothering to look for the clone who shouted out the question, Naruto continued to cut through the steel bars with a fully confident smile crossing his features.

"Mr. Uzumaki, look out!"

A small pack of guard hounds that had been hidden away ambushed the real Naruto from behind aiming to rip out his jugular and take out their prey.

They wouldn't get far as a plethora of chains emerged from the ground like a bamboo trap skewering each hellhound in the pack.

The canines whined and squeaked before exploding into a cloud of dust and ash.

"If there's anything that I know about her, she's probably juuuust fin—"

 **Skies over Marigold's Lake**

Two streaks of bright orange and bewitching violet blitzed across the sky colliding with one another in echoing booms. Visible distortions of the air appeared with each clash until a burning sphere of fire shot forth from the orange missile forcing its opposition to back away.

Evading back to twirl around the pyro sphere, Mirajane's jet black wings stretched out to their full mass halting her advance while holding her afloat.

Facing off against her, Sitri remained in flight with two propulsive flame jets beneath his two feet, a glare of pure infuriation and slight madness pinned against Mira.

"You… You've taken over the soul of a demon…!"

Sitri wiped away a drip of blood from the side of his blackened cheek, the skin scorched from the lightning being wielded by the human wizard. A nasty cut courtesy of Mira marked the side of his forehead and his once beautiful black hair was scorched to a crisp in some parts.

Mirajane on the other hand could hardly be called scratched. Her violet pupils continued to glimmer with a demonic glow as magic surged through her veins. For the first time in her career as a mage, she was releasing every ounce of her power.

Even during her fights against Erza, she never delved deeper into Satan Soul's power which was why she had always taken on an incomplete transformation. The differences between the complete and incomplete versions were as wide as a canyon.

Two violet orbs locked gazes with Sitri as the clouds around their owner began to blacken.

"What's the matter? Are you scared to fight against something that can actually fight back?" her deepened voice called out.

A wry smile stretched across the prince of fire's lips as he burst into a cackling fit of howling laughter.

"Scared? What a joke! You're more of a demon than you are a human!"

A twisted and sickening grin appeared on Sitri's face as he held out his hands and materialized a wild firestorm in front of him. Forcing his will upon the conflagration, Sitri shrunk the fiery pyre, continuously condensing its shape until it took the form of a double-edged long sword.

Mirajane quickly created two lightning katara daggers within each hand blocking the demon's initial downward strike.

Sitri smirked as this was what he was waiting for. Ordering his fire to bend once more, the fiery longsword morphed to a massive hammer causing the S-Class mage's eyes to widen out of shock.

The resulting blow created a powerful explosion sending soot and ash raining down onto the lake below as it sent Mirajane rocketing into the water below. .

Sitri's victorious laughs of triumphs reverberated across the land as they took great glee in the destruction below. Forests burned while the screams of wildlife filled nature's air.

In his arrogance and overconfidence, Sitri neglected one crucial law of the battlefield.

Always make sure your opponent is down.

Oblivious to the pure black skies, a drastic contrast to their former gentle blue pigment, Sitri's cackles came to an end as a bolt of lightning struck him above. Like a fish without water, Sitri dry heaved and continued to let out choked gasps as a billion volts of lightning coursed through his body without relent.

What felt like an eternity of pain was only a mere second as it ended as soon as it had begun. Sitri's formerly pristine outfit was burned black while his skin continued to smolder and broil.

Bursting forth from the water below, a projectile shot upwards like a spiraling bullet. The moment it reached the same altitude as Sitri, its outer carapace unfolded itself with a snap revealing them to be the wings belonging to Mirajane.

Aside from the scorch marks upon the back of her wings, Mirajane remained relatively unharmed yet her eyes remained shadowed due to her head being inclined downwards.

"You know when I was kid; I also thought I was more of a demon than a human." Mirajane spoke responding to Sitri's previous accusation. "I thought that I had been cursed by the demon I stole this power from."

The two scars running over each of Mirajane's eyes began to slightly recede in size.

"I read countless books at Fairy Tail, always looking for some way or some miracle that would help me get rid of it."

Looking up to finally reveal her eyes, Mirajane's aqua blue irises left Sitri stunned.

They were human again.

"But instead I ended up finding out something else about myself."

Closing her eyes once again, the scars grew in length once more while her pupils regained their violet luminesce, shining brightly with full force.

"Soul Transcendence. A rare magic ability that I have which is born to only a handful of people. It allows a Takeover mage to not only subdue a soul, but to draw out even greater power than the original owner of the soul."

The ivory-haired demon wizard looked at the inhuman midnight purple scales that covered her hands and arms, the same hands she once saw as grotesque and stomach-churning.

"I was always afraid of using more of Satan Soul's powers… the more I reached down the more I would change and so I was afraid of being seen as a monster."

"Shut your fucking mouth, you bitch!" Sitri roared as his amber eyes became bloodshot with unfettered animalistic rage. "Are you too blind to see you've long discarded your humanity?! You already are a monster!"

Rushing towards Mirajane in a blind rage, Sitri tore through the sky at sound barrier breaking speeds with his clawed hand prepared to run the Fairy Tail mage through.

Staring dead straight into Sitri's insane gaze, Mirajane caught his hand cold, his razor sharpened claws mere inches away from her eyes. Using her right hand's four fingers to hold Sitri's hand down from the top and her thumb from the bottom, Mira used her thumb to push the fire demon's fingers backwards breaking all of them at once.

A cry of sheer pain erupted from Sitri's mouth as he wrenched his hand free before flying to escape the demon woman.

Like a hungry hawk watching its broken prey attempt to escape, Mirajane held up her outward facing hands as the electric sparks around her body each shot off forming dozens of spheres made of pure electrical energy.

" **Hunter Wisps**."

As if possessed with sentience of their own, the lightning orbs rocketed towards their fleeing target chasing him down with extreme prejudice.

With every swerve Sitri attempted to throw them off his trail, they faithfully followed. With every duck, dodge, dip, and dive he tried, they would not divert from their mark.

"Damn… it…!" the fire using demon cursed, face contorted with strain as he tried to pull ahead.

With only one option in mind, Sitri's non-broken hand enveloped itself in flame unleashing a fiery wave in a horizontal arc to act as a shield.

Thankfully his sharp-witted gambit managed to save him from the wisps.

Most of the wisps that is.

As if the first strike of lightning had been condensed to an unimaginably compact form, Sitri felt the familiar pain of lightning frying his internal muscles while boiling the blood inside him as a couple wisps pierced through the firewall exploding on contact while sending his crisp body crashing back to earth.

Crash landing on the riverbank digging a half a mile long trench in the process, Sitri slammed his good fist into the dirt beneath him before he suddenly clutched his head in agony.

Hundreds of images, all showing the brutal ends met by his hounds assaulted his brain without relent. It wasn't until the last hound perished that the torment came to an end.

"Dammit, Dammit, Dammit, DAMMIT!"

Looking towards his broken hand, Sitri's mind had already made its decision as the term drastic no longer existed in its mental dictionary.

Closing his eyes in concentration, Sitri began to chant in hushed murmurs just as Mirajane descended down to find him.

" **Through the fiery blazes of the Inferno, all is reduced to ash. Through the flames of the Hellfire, all souls are damned to eternal and everlasting fire. O' great destroyer, I sacrifice this left arm of mine in exchange for your power…** "

As soon as her feet had touched the ground, Mirajane had vanished in a burst of speed with a fist raised with the intent of burrowing Sitri's head straight into the ground.

" **Piercing Blow**!"

Like a snake coiled in preparation for the kill, Sitri whirled around; his fist becoming an appendage of pure flame, as he smashed his previously broken left fist into Mirajane's creating a booming explosion.

Being sent nearly a quarter of a kilometer back from the shockwave alone, Mirajane's shocked visage looked down at her right hand that had been badly burned from the attack. Her fist had been surrounded in an invisible shell of magic with enough condensed power to shatter the rest of the bones in Sitri's body.

Violet pupils locked onto the ominous and grinning figure hidden behind the shroud of smoke and ash.

" **Hehehehehehehehehe, you should have killed me when you had the chance**..."

The cloud of smoke was swept aside with a single wave of Sitri's hand revealing the price of his bargain.

Gone was the flesh and bone of his left arm. In its place was a limb comprised of fire alone.

" **I've given up a piece of my body in exchange for the strongest hellfire there is! Humans, Demons, everything dies before my Hellfire**!"

Mirajane winced looking down at her own hand. The protective layer of magic had been burned away leaving her skin beneath bloody red.

She could feel her magic beginning to leave her as this was the first time she had used her Takeover to this extent.

" _I have to end this with one more!_ "

The rolling sea of black clouds grew even denser as the low rumbling of thunder filled the air. Purple flashes of light bounced across the grounds as the air became more and more charged.

Mind focused solely on the death of the human before him, the crown prince of fire and flame put his all into his final resort, the aftershock of it being more than strong enough to annihilate him entirely.

" **Come, Monster! If I can't win, I'll make sure we both die together!** "

Converting the flames comprising his left arm into a single pulsing sphere with a swirling storm of flame within it. Expanding like a bubble, the sphere continued to grow larger and larger until it became akin to that of a miniature sun, the sheer heat causing the nearby water in the lake to evaporate into steam.

" **Asmodeus's Pyre**!"

Grinning with a mad gleam in his eyes, Sitri hurled the massive fire construct forward, the ground beneath it splitting apart while the lake boiled below it.

The loud crash of thunder and a flash of lightning descended downwards, the bolt of violet light striking Mirajane the moment the fireball collided against her. The weight of the dense pyro ball began to push down upon Mira forcing her into the boiling lake with just moments before the true inferno was unleashed.

Holding the stump where his left arm used to be, a grin so wide that it began to stretch and strain the demon's cheeks to the point it hurt twisted itself across his face.

It was beautiful. The sight of the magnificent fire bomb sinking into the lake with his enemy beneath hit. The anticipation for the impending explosion as the sphere began rising up into the sky.

Wait… rising?!

Sitri's eyes widened in unadulterated shock as his sphere was launched and propelled into the air like a children's ball. Climbing higher and higher into the troposphere, the sphere finally detonated into a massive explosion that would be described by as one sudden orange flash by towns miles away.

Uncontrolled fire surged across the sky like a spiraling ring of flame creating great light for but a brief moment before it became nothing more than small embers darkening the sky heavily with soot and ash.

Watching a figure ascend upwards from the distance, Sitri's expression mirrored his shock the moment he laid his eyes upon the weapon within the grasp of his enemy.

Finally reaching a height to where she was above the water, Mirajane let out a breath of relief, taking the brief moment of reprieve to examine the spear she now held before returning her attention to the shell-shocked demon before her. From his face alone, anyone could guess the one question lingering on his mind.

How?

" **Satan's Spear, Soul Deceiver**." Mirajane spoke aloud taking the moment to admire the spear as well.

The spear's design was elegant yet untamed. Appearing to be made of a black crystalline ore with a purple light residing within it, its true identity was simply demonic lightning condensed in its purest form. The spearhead had a single sharpened point while its handle possessed a jagged zig-zag like pattern reminiscent to that of a thunderbolt.

The moment before Sitri's pyro ball hit, Mirajane had caught the bolt of lightning from the sky and created this spear deflecting the fire demon's attack in the process.

"Earlier you said I was more of a demon than a human." Mirajane offhandedly spoke, eyes not once leaving the spear within her grasp. "To be honest, I've always wondered whether people would treat me as a monster if I used my takeover to this extent. But..."

" _Then at least you have us, Naruto would never abandon someone over something as trivial as this."_

"... But if using a power that people fear means I won't have to lose anyone close to me ever again then I'd rather be a demon than a _real_ monster like you..."

Raising the spear up in preparation for throwing it, Mirajane aimed the weapon at the center of Sitri's being.

"Haha…" Sitri lowly chuckled. He had lost. His hounds were dead, his captives rescued, and his magic gone.

Moving his right hand over the stump where his left arm previously was, he was reminded of yet another loss— no a sacrifice that was all for naught.

His strongest attack had been defeated and he had no more cards up his sleeve.

Despite the hopelessness of it all, Sitri would never remember why his body moved on its own that day. As if possessed by the obsession to defeat Mirajane, Sitri in a state of delirium charged forwards.

He only made for an easier target.

He hadn't even saw the snow-haired lightning demon in front of him move when the lightning spear, with a travel velocity of 1/3rd the speed of light, punctured a hole through his chest.

Like a puppet with its strings cut, Sitri fell to the ground landing on his knees as he shakily grabbed the spear of lightning embedded deep into his chest with the other end sticking out of his back.

Landing in front of him, Mirajane grabbed the hilt of the spear mercilessly ripping it out. The action did not hurt or cause the demon any pain given as how the electricity had numbed his pain sensors, but it was what had been pierced on the spear's tip that had his attention.

Watching it wriggle on the end of the spear with the tip pierced through its amorphous body, Sitri's gaze lay firmly locked with the strange entity before it was decisively ripped off by Mira.

" **Soul Rend** , a technique unique to most takeover mages. Instead of absorbing the entire body, the soul alone is ripped apart from the target with their abilities fully preserved." Mirajane explained as she crushed Sitri's soul before absorbing it.

Sitri looked down and watched as his body began to crumble and fall apart, cracks splintering across his arms, legs, and face. Without the presence of a soul within it, the demon's body could no longer hold itself together. He could no longer speak given that he no longer possessed a tongue. He could only watch and feel as his body collapsed on itself.

Managing a ghost of a smile, Sitri's last conscious thought was the pity he held for any other demons unfortunate enough to cross this woman's path.

Watching the remnants of Sitri fade away into dust, Mirajane let out a deep breath as she released her full body takeover. Ears no longer akin to an elf's and hair abiding by the laws of gravity once again, Mirajane returned from her demon form's bodysuit back into her t-shirt and jeans.

Both of which were torn and ragged.

"I did it…"

Taking her first step back on the path to Marigold, Mirajane's vision suddenly grew much hazier as she lost her footing and fell forward.

She would have hit the ground if not for the two arms that caught her before she hit the ground.

Blinking away the bleariness, Mira found a familiar pair of ocean blue eyes staring back into her own, a pleased grin making its way onto their owner's countenance.

"Naruto?" she hesitantly murmured, wondering if this was just a delusion.

"Yep, it's really me. I'm here for ya."

Bending down, Naruto hooked one arm beneath Mira's legs while the other went beneath her upper back and under her arm. Scooping her up, Naruto got a comfortable grip on a surprised Mira as he began carrying her back to town.

Not too far away, a large crowd of Marigold's residents stood in the wait while cheering for their arrival.

"Congrats, Mira. You beat Sitri and saved all these people."

Mira lightly flushed at the praise turning her gaze inwards towards Naruto's chest and away from the citizens.

"They're probably cheering for you since you're the one who saved the people kidnapped."

Pushing her way through the crowd, Elizabeth finally managed to break through as she ran up to the approaching Fairy Tail duo.

"Mr. Naruto! Ms. Mira!"

Naruto cracked a wide grin as he set Mirajane down while making sure to keep her left arm over his shoulder while his right arm helped prop her up. He didn't want to set her down on her own just yet on the off chance that she fell.

"Hey, Elizabeth! Did you miss us?"

Emerald eyes shined with awe and wonder as they looked upon the two figures worthy of such grandeur.

"You were so amazing! I heard from the others that you rescued everyone all by yourself AND took out all of Sitri's guard hounds!"

"Hehe, impressive right?"

Elizabeth nodded her head vigorously before the same animated gaze shifted towards Mirajane.

"But you were definitely the coolest Ms. Mira! The way you fought Sitri was so cool! You were like whoosh, whoosh, and bam! And he was all like GAAAAAAHHH~"

Mira couldn't hold back the giggle that escaped her lips seeing Elizabeth act out her battle from her point of view. The young girl's enthusiasm was quite contagious.

The sound of whistling and applause suddenly broke out as the cheers of Marigold's residents resounded across the clearing surprising Mirajane.

"Thank you for saving my daughter!"

"You two are welcome to come back any time!"

Making his way through the crowd in a manner similar to Elizabeth, Kazuki finally managed to push himself to the forefront with a bright smile upon his features as he jogged up to the Fairy Tail wizard and shinobi.

As soon as he reached the two, he immediately bowed his head.

"You two have my sincerest gratitude. Your bravery has not only saved the lives of the lives of these men and women, but the future of Marigold as well. I cannot thank you enough."

Elizabeth grinned from ear to ear as she lowered her head in thanks as well.

Raising his head once more, Kazuki met Naruto's sheepish visage but was taken aback by Mirajane's hesitant demeanor.

"Um, Mirajane is there something wrong?"

Eyes widening at being caught as the buzzkill to the party, Mirajane waved her hand in a disregarding manner while smiling reassuringly.

"It's nothing really. I was just a bit surprised that these people weren't… afraid."

Kazuki gained a look of understanding as he looked back to his fellow citizens before looking forward once more, a kind smile stretching across his lips.

"While it's true that some of us were a bit surprised after seeing your magic, we all knew that you weren't a vengeful demon like Sitri. There was never a reason for us to fear someone fighting so hard for our sakes."

Mira's gaze slightly widened as she lowered her head obscuring her eyes with her hair. When she returned, she had expected looks of fear, whispers, gossip, but certainly not this.

She had expected to be ostracized

Yet for the first time after opening up her heart once more, she felt a feeling of happiness and acceptance surge through her chest like a deep, soothing river.

It was warmth she had long sought for.

"I see." she quietly murmured, a small smile on her lips.

From her side, Naruto smiled softly. He could tell that she was holding back her tears, so he gave Mira a slight nudge with his arm.

With her attention focused on him, Mira briefly wiped her eyes for any hints of wetness before meeting Naruto's gaze.

"Not bad for our first job, huh?"

Mirajane lightly laughed cracking a broadened smile of her own. "Yeah… not bad at all."

 **Couple things I'd like to say so the first thing I'll do is this. Hi, how ya doing. It's probably been a while since you last heard from me. Some of you may have thought this story is dead or I abandoned it but I assure you that was not the case. I said it would take a while to upload given that I've been job hunting while balancing university as well. Anyhow there's a somethings in the chapter I thought I'd explain.**

 **Mirajane's Satan Soul being the first. When I thought about how I could make her abilities more interesting I had a lot of ideas, but not many were very good power wise so I chose to go with elemental variations. After rewatching her fight with Freed I had the idea of giving each takeover a primary element with Satan Soul being lightning, Sitri fire, and Halphas wind.**

 **This last bit is totally optional but I do think it's something important I want to say when it comes to authors on this site and writing so if you want to stop here please leave a review on the way out.**

 **You ever have that one favorite author of yours suddenly up and quit for no apparent reason. Sometimes they leave a message saying how it's just not fun anymore, they just don't have the drive, or they don't say anything at all. I've been thinking about that for a while and how it relates to my own motivation so I wanted to share my thoughts. I don't think this is the case for everyone, but this is how it is with me.**

 **When a person starts writing on this site, it's initially for the fun of it with the idea of "Oh man what would happen if I mixed two different universes but THIS happens" We write for fun but when people start to like what we do, we focus less on the fun and more on the "How we can make this better for our readers". We rack our minds thinking about developments and eventually it's no longer the fun hobby we once thought of it as, but a chore that gets drearier each time.**

 **Personally, I do feel my drive is lacking compared to before so I wanted to do an experiment. I'm going to write something new to upload and it'll probably be in the Naruto x DxD crossover section. Before anyone panics, let me emphasize that I am NOT taking a break on this story. I'm going to do ONE chapter of something new just to see if my motivation changes and I'm coming straight back to Tale of a New Storm. My thought process is if maybe I do something for fun and not for something that I feel it needs to be really good, I could find more motivation to write if that makes sense. Anyway maybe I won't even do it, I am a fickle person but yeah this is sort of like a PSA just in case. That's all. If you got that far, then I appreciate you caring this much.**

 **See ya**


	6. Black Stone Job

**CH6: Black Stone Job**

 **Hi, as usual the AN with stuff related to me/where I've been is at the bottom for those who are wondering so you don't have to scroll for 30 seconds to get to the actual story.**

 **PS I wrote most of this on my phone when my power was out for the days I had free time, so beware of errors I missed.**

 **On the Train towards Magnolia**

The steady clicks of the locomotive's wheels running along the steel tracks rebounded along the cabin's walls becoming something akin to a metronome in the quiet cart.

Naruto's gaze rested upon the rolling landscape, a pensive look being worn upon his features.

In the short span of time that he had been here, Naruto had come to understand the nature of Fiore and was keenly aware of the vast differences between that of Earthland and his former world. In the past few decades, Fiore had not come to experience the horrors and tragedies of war.

Towns and villages thrived across the continent with most of the population being comprised of citizens living their lives in peace and prosperity. There were no conflicts between different territories of Fiore as the entire continent had united under a single flag.

Granted there were still criminals and a few monsters here and there, but what significance did they hold in comparison to blood wars between five major countries that comprised most of if not the entirety of a continent where backstabbing and deception usually resulting in countless atrocities against humanity practically happened every day of the week?

The muddled internal contradiction Naruto had was if his role in this world was truly needed. Not his role as Naruto the simple poster child of awesome and ass-kicking, but his role for what he had been trained to be. His role that he had been entrusted with as a shinobi.

The world of mages had been blessed ignorant to the ideals and methodologies of the shinobi. Human experimentation, trafficking, underground secret circles, or even the jinchuriki programs were all examples Naruto could list straight off the top of his head.

Deceit, betrayal, greed, wrath, and hatred were the sins of the shinobi of old. Even though his shinobi way differed to that of his predecessors such as Konoha's elders and Danzo, Naruto knew it didn't change the fact that at his very roots he was still a shinobi whose ways were the polar opposite of Fiore's mages.

He had undertaken countless espionage, infiltration, and even assassination missions in his tenure as a Konoha soldier. Although his targets were usually assigned by Tsunade due to them being highly dangerous threats towards the village, Naruto had seen firsthand shinobi like his godfather and former teacher Jiraiya efficiently eliminate targets found via his spy network, one of the first lessons he learned on his training trip at the tender age of 13.

The peace loving man never took joy in the act, yet only managed to do so with the knowledge that he was protecting his home and the countless future Kings.

To what end would those practices serve on a peaceful country like this?

This answer was simple. They would not save anyone, only damn another world to an endless cycle of pain.

Naruto had thought much about his final conversation with both Hagoromo and his parents. The words they had spoken having been etched into the very corners of his mind casting ripples like a rock breaking the surface of water.

" _Kurama."_

" **What is it, Naruto?** "

The smile of reassurance that made its way across Naruto's face knowing he had one of, if not the best, partners to rely on spoke volumes of his trust and respect for the almighty chakra incarnate.

" _Is it really okay? To let go of the legacy of our old world…? I feel like I'm lying to Mira and the others because none of them actually know who I am or what I've done. They've never lived in a world like ours or have ever had to make the decisions we had to._ "

There was a brief pause of silence and during that momentary lull, Naruto had closed his eyes and found himself within the vibrant meadow of his mindscape sitting beside the massive haunches of Kurama.

The fox was silent yet the leisurely undulating movements of his nine tails served to show the consideration the Kyuubi gave his close friend's question.

The sacred beast's deep ruby orbs glimmered with thought, drawing upon the centuries of wisdom they had accumulated.

" **Is being a shinobi truly that important to you?** "

A lone crimson eye of Kurama's looked downwards to the troubled human beside him.

Naruto's lips thinned into an anguished frown, the insides of his mouth feeling dry and tasteless.

"It's just… I don't want to let go of the bonds I made with everyone back home. Everything I learned from Ero-Sennin, Kakashi-sensei, Iruka-sensei, and Tsunade-baachan and everyone I met was all because I became a shinobi. If I didn't become a shinobi, I wouldn't have met all those amazing people."

An inescapable grin crept across Kurama's furry visage as a deep chortle rumbled in his chest drawing the whiskered teen's attention.

" **Naruto can I tell you something?** "

Seeing the blond's somewhat expectant and hopeful look, Kurama took great pleasure in his next words.

" **You are the worst shinobi I've ever met. In fact, I think you're the worst shinobi to have ever been alive in the history of the Elemental Nations.** "

Naruto spluttered before an indignant red colored his face like thermometer ready to burst.

Before he could retort, a colossal tail patted his head with the gentleness of a doe.

" **Naruto, you may have helped me to overcome my anger and hatred, but that doesn't mean I have forgotten how your kind treated my brethren and I.** "

"But-"

" **I wasn't finished, so let me.** " Kurama gruffly spoke silencing a slightly irked blond.

Kurama sighed with a heavy bitterness laced into his tone.

" **All of us: Shukaku, Matatabi, Isobu, Son Goku, Kokuo, Saiken, Chomei, Gyuki, and I bore witness to the pain caused by shinobi. We were all captured one by one, separated, and traded around like simple pieces in a game played by the Kage, treated as mindless weapons meant to be utilized for the "greater good" of their villages. We watched countless talented and hopeful individuals who could have changed hundreds of nations have their lives ruined simply because of the selfishness of their shinobi leaders. Many of them blamed my siblings for their suffering while few decided to bear the burden and resign themselves to their hell with us.** "

Naruto listened on in silent awe. Never had Kurama spoken or shared his thoughts and feelings on a level like this. It wasn't something he had ever expected given how furtive the fox was on matters like this.

" **Although you may have changed the lives and minds of hundreds of thousands of humans, it still will NEVER change the fact that it was their own greed, hate, and selfishness as shinobi that brought the old man's worst nightmare to life in the first place. It's not that I can't acknowledge you as a shinobi, Naruto. It's the fact that I won't and refuse to acknowledge you as a shinobi."**

Straightening his back as he towered over Naruto with divine grace and majesty, Kurama's lips stretched into a grin filled with both pride and power, a grin befitting a heavenly being such as he.

" **To my siblings and I, we do not choose to respect and acknowledge Uzumaki Naruto the Shinobi. No, all nine of us and my father choose to acknowledge Uzumaki Naruto the Hero. Even if he were to abandon his duties as a shinobi, our minds would not change. Even if this world rejects him, I'll still be there as his friend. This is the Naruto that I will follow even to the end of my existence, no matter what.** "

The mirthful smile upon Naruto's face could not portray his happiness in its entirety as he wiped the edges of his eyes with the sleeve of his cloak.

Kurama really was the best.

" **... are you crying?** "

Naruto blinked once. He blinked twice his ears finally beginning to properly work. He stammered as he quickly roused himself to reality with a heated glare burning a hole into Kurama.

"What?! Of course not!"

Kurama frowned displeased, his lips downturned in full disgust. " **Leave. I don't need you contaminating my home.** "

Without so much as a warning, Naruto was swatted away with one of Kurama's tails ending any backtalk the teen would have given while simultaneously kicking Naruto out of his own mind.

Kurama's haughty grin remained as he spoke one last time while Naruto's flying form began to fade away from the recesses of his own mind.

" **Whatever decision you come to, I will give you my full support. You more than anyone deserve to live without the expectations and and selfishness of others.** "

Forcefully kicked out from his own head, Naruto's eyes opened finding themselves reacquainted with the booth on the other side's wine red back cushion.

"Furry piece of shit…" he muttered under his breath with a smile.

Naruto sighed readjusting his position to get comfortable for the remainder of the trip before the weight on his shoulder became all the more apparent.

Besides the consistent clacks of the train, the hushed snoozes of one person was the only other sound preventing total silence.

Eyes closed as she rested her head against the comfortable shoulder of the person beside her, Mirajane's soft breathing was serene and peaceful as her cheek pressed against the comfortable fabric of Naruto's black, red-lined cloak worn over his orange, zipped-up jacket.

She felt warm, as if a comfortable blanket of safety had wrapped around her for the first time in years.

Regretfully, she felt herself beginning to wake up as she regained consciousness. Blinking away the bleary haze out of her vision, Mirajane softly yawned, stretching her aching arms before wrapping them around her pillow once again while preparing to return to dreamland.

Her eyes promptly opened. She didn't bring a pillow with her on this request.

Sky-blue eyes gradually drifted towards the object that was definitely NOT a pillow, but instead an arm. The pair of orbs continued their journey upwards until they locked gazes with the open and fully awake cerulean eyes of Fairy Tail's most recent addition, exhibiting his most teasing grin with full force.

"Sleep well?"

With a deliberate and eerie calm, Mirajane released the blond's arm from her hold, her facial features doing a highly commendable job of not betraying her internal humiliation despite the heat she could feel in her cheeks.

"Tell anyone, and I'll spread all kinds of rumors about you." she calmly glared.

"Oh? So I can't show anyone these cute pictures I took?"

One moment Naruto was sitting in his seat normally, and the next he found Mirajane right on top of him, hands gripping the collar of his shirt while her knee pushed downwards onto the shinobi's gut. The young woman's pale cheeks were set aflame in a barely restrained blush.

"Hand them over. Now."

Naruto's grin seemed to widen as he raised his hands up in surrender despite the growing pressure on his stomach.

"You do realize that up until today I couldn't even afford a dirt cheap inn or buy my own food? Much less a camera of all things?"

There was a momentary pause of silence.

"Also could you get off? You're kind of scarring a child and his mother with how forward you're being..."

Mirajane followed Naruto's finger towards the cabin's door where a wide-eyed, blushing mother quickly covered her son's eyes before hurriedly ushering him back into the previous cabin, all the while muttering something about shameless teenagers nowadays.

This time, Mirajane could not hide her embarrassment realizing she was effectively straddling Naruto.

As her cheeks flushed into an uncomfortable shade of crimson, she returned back into her previous sitting position with her hands placed properly on her lap except this time on the opposite seat.

"Jerk…"

Naruto chuckled good-naturedly, smile stretched wide like a fox.

"So how are you feeling?"

Mira glanced towards Naruto out of the corner of her eye before huffing and redirecting her gaze back outside the window.

Naruto's lips were upturned and bemused before a sigh escaped them.

With a lone finger, the shinobi lightly poked the mage's side earning a surprised yelp followed by a light wince.

"You're still pretty sore from earlier, aren't you?"

Mirajane gave the shinobi a sideways stare before her gaze fell downwards. Nodding her head while looking down into the palms of her shaking hands.

"To be honest, it feels like I've been run over by a truck." she answered with a wry smile. "I don't think I ever felt fatigue this bad."

Naruto couldn't resist the smirk that made its way onto his features. "You're gonna have to get used to it. What you're feeling right now is just a small sample of the pain I went through in my teenage years."

Mirajane's expression of irritation quickly changed to one of owlish confusion. "Are you serious? I can barely even move my arms! What were you even training this hard for?"

"It was to rescue…"Naruto's mischievous vulpine demeanor fell just as quickly as he realized his slip. In the comfortable atmosphere, he had forgotten his place for a brief moment. This was Fiore, a country of peace, not one of shinobi. The mission had been green-lit to be accomplished by any means necessary at the time meaning they were allowed the highest of freedoms when it came to the objective.

Simply put, they were authorized to remove any obstacle impeding their mission be it alive or dead.

In the end, all of them ended up with critical injuries with himself almost being killed, just barely managing to survive thanks to Kurama.

"Sorry, you don't have to tell me if it's too personal for you." Mirajane quickly amended noticing Naruto's sudden reluctance and hesitation.

The Takeover mage did not want to pry into the strange, yet kind boy's past if it was too painful to talk about. At Fairy Tail, everyone had their own trials and tribulations, but it was their choice when they wished to speak about them.

Naruto remained taciturn as he internally weighed his options. Should he share an actual piece of his past? How would Mira react? Would she be frightened? Disgusted?

The jinchuriki bit down on the inside of his cheek before deciding on doing the right thing. Taking the hard way out was never easy. It's why it wasn't called the easy-way-out. Besides, Uzumaki never took the easy way.

He didn't think Mira was the kind of person to be utterly disgusted with something like this, so the least he could do was believe in her.

"No, it's fine..." Naruto sighed after quiet deliberation. If it were him, he knew he'd rather be hurt with a truth than to be comforted with a lie. "Listen, do you remember the person I told you about in front of Lisanna's grave?"

Mirajane, still slightly surprised by Naruto's decision, slowly nodded remembering the conversation they held back then, her mind recalling every detail.

"You spoke about a close friend who lost his way after losing his family, right?"

"Yeah, that's right. His name was Uchiha Sasuke, my rival and friend, and he was the reason why I had pushed myself to my limits every time I trained."

"Uchiha?" Mira repeated testing the foreign word with hesitation. "I don't mean to be rude, but it's a bit of a strange first name isn't it?"

A small smile appeared on Naruto's lips as he chuckled in agreement. "Uchiha was just his last name. Where I come from, we typically introduce ourselves with our last names first and our given names second."

Mirajane's face scrunched up in thought as she thought back to their first meeting a few weeks ago. "But… didn't you introduce yourself to us with your given name first when we met?"

"I actually did that after finding out who you and Elfman were by asking around town while you guys were asleep. Most of the people I talked to gave their first names first and their last names second, so I thought I'd try to do the same. It's been a bit of a struggle given some old habits, so I figured I'd just do whatever I felt like doing."

Mirajane politely giggled into the back of her hand. "I see, that's just like you. Sorry for stopping you."

"No problem, I don't really mind." Naruto waved off. "Sasuke was basically my rival so to speak and we both fought for our village until he ran away. Back then he was searching for power to take revenge on a certain person. My training back then was to bring him back and keep a promise I made."

Noticing the rather somber note in Naruto's weary answer, Mirajane felt a growing feeling of unrest within her stomach seeing the typically exuberant blond almost melancholic.

"I remember you said Sasuke wanted revenge, but what could cause him to abandon his friends like that?"

Naruto sighed, unbidden memories of the past flashing before his eyes like a series of panels. With heavy-hearted weariness, his hand rose up to support his chin as he gazed out the window, his cerulean eyes becoming lost in the vivid hills and forests.

As if mirroring the transition within his mind, the bright view of Fiore's verdant countryside disappeared into an inky blackness as the train entered a mountainside tunnel drowning the inside of the cabin in darkness.

Towards the background, an announcement over the train's intercom informed the guests that the train would be decreasing its speed to reduce the risk of derailment while under the mountain.

Although the information would fall on deaf ears belonging to two people, one enthralled in listening to a tale and a second in telling it.

A series of orange-dimmed lights lining the tunnel walls casted an orange square upon Naruto's face that altered between black and bright as the train passed each light adorning the wall.

"The person he was chasing after was his brother who was responsible for killing their entire clan." he tastelessly answered.

It was these moments of reflection that would cause an invisible scar long healed by the longevity of the Kyuubi to ache upon his chest, the searing pain of lightning stabbing into the skin cells like needles.

"What…?"

Naruto folded his hands together while resting his chin over them. He didn't need to face Mirajane to see the genuine face of horror and bewilderment.

"The… country I came from was constantly in a state of war. The major villages fought each other in bloody battles with brief ceasefire periods. The entire continent was basically always an active powder keg for another great war."

Naruto's words were spoken with great melancholy and regret, each syllable laced with lonely resentment as he breathed out a deep sigh.

"Uchiha Itachi was Sasuke's older brother who had experienced war when he was around 4 years old. It might have been why he grew up to be one of my village's most renowned members." Naruto idly mused.

"Naruto…" Mirajane breathlessly began. "Where did you come from? I haven't heard about a war happening in years…?"

"Like I said, my country isn't even close to here." Naruto answered with a wry smile. "I only recently came to Fiore after all. Anyway, about Itachi..."

Mirajane nodded, her arms and legs feeling numb just thinking about what pushed a person to kill their entire family.

"I know you're probably thinking Itachi is a cold, ruthless monster and a murderer." Naruto spoke unintentionally sending a chill through Mira's bones. "And for the longest time I thought the same."

A bright light suddenly eclipsed Naruto and Mirajane's visions, both teens flinching at the sudden appearance of sunlight as the train finally made it through the mountain. Naruto let out a small chuckle before his voice rose with volume, admiration, and underlying guilt.

"But in reality he was a true hero who saved my village. In order to prevent a secret coup d'état led by his clan to take control of everything, he chose to kill every last man, woman, and child preserving their clan's reputation as victims rather than traitors while staining his own for the rest of his life."

There was a pregnant silence in the air permeating the atmosphere of the cabin. Mirajane had never been exposed to death or murder except in the rare case that she ran into dark mages on one of her S-Class requests. To hear Naruto, a boy who was a year younger than her at 17 ,herself being 18, talk of death like it had been a childhood companion growing up was more than unsettling.

"Why…?"

For the first time, Naruto looked away from the window to face Mirajane. The sheer ache and disbelief in her voice pulled Naruto away from his own internal stew of thoughts.

The beautiful young girl's face was marred by an anguished frown while her hands gripped the fabric of her jeans tightly.

"Why didn't he choose to side with his own family?" she softly spoke. "I know it was to prevent a coup from taking place, but still…"

Hearing of a man who had cast aside his own flesh and blood like this… it was like he symbolized the polar opposite of Fairy Tail's ideals of family.

A sad sigh escaped Naruto's lips, his memory revisiting the short time he had with the infamous Uchiha while he had freed himself from the Edo Tensei.

"I told you about the country's state of affairs, didn't I? If word of my home's instability reached the ears of our enemies, they would have declared war on us without a second thought in order to take advantage of the opportunity."

Mira's sky blue eyes slowly widened the realization dawning upon them soon after as Naruto confirmed the worst.

"Itachi… he chose to kill his family in order to prevent another war from happening. He dragged his name, life, and future through the dirt while lying to Sasuke. He sacrificed everything for the sake of our people but the only thing he couldn't do was kill his brother out of the love he had for him."

In the brief two hours Mirajane had spent on the train, the teen had felt like she had been there for days. The effects of fatigue from the mission felt as if they had multiplied while her stomach continued to twist itself into tighter and smaller knots.

"It's not fair…" she quietly murmured, Naruto leaning in closer having missed the sentence leaving her lips. "Itachi never had a choice…"

Naruto nodded in agreement. "A lot of us never did back then. That's why I trained so I could fight to protect everything I cared about."

Mirajane's gaze fell on Naruto who had absentmindedly pulled out a notebook and pen as he began to draw numerous intricate shapes and lines.

A stray thought, one that she would remember years later, presented itself within her mind. The person sitting a mere three feet away from her was not like the others around their age. The seemingly normal teen whose very appearance screamed harmless as he drew in his book was just a shell hiding something much greater beneath.

There was a natural affinity he held for drawing people together like a chaotic whirlwind pulling everything to it. He was the focal point surrounded by different kinds of people and had the sheer guts to follow through with whatever he decided even at the costs of his own body.

She didn't think it was farfetched for someone like Naruto to become an important figure in the future.

 **Magnolia Town**

"We're back!"

"Hey guys, welcome home!"

As Naruto pushed open the aged doors of the Fairy Tail guild, he was once again embraced by the strong smell of old oak wood mixed with the near intoxicating mustiness of alcohol slightly burning the insides of his nostril. Nevertheless, he welcomed the smell along with the loud shouts of "welcome back" and "good work".

Naruto and Mirajane both carried a briefcase of their own each containing their split of the twenty million jewel reward as they walked through town. Needless to say, it was a bit uncomfortable carrying that much money around which was why they agreed to stop by the guild before calling it a day.

The train ride had been a little more than awkward after he had continued to explain the slightly filtered events leading to his intense, deathmatch with his former friend ending with his debilitating loss.

Mirajane had sat through the entire duration of the tale utterly captivated by Naruto's youth yet distant at the same time as she had no way to relate to the teen. There did not exist a single Fairy Tail member to her knowledge that could possibly understand the blond save the master at best.

Although there were more than a few details she had her suspicions about. Not that she wanted to offend the blond, but she just hadn't heard of a country like his in recent years. Come to think of it, did he even mention the name of his former nation? Maybe the master would know.

Speaking of the master…

"Naruto! Mira!"

The wizened elder called out the two of them from his signature spot on the bar's countertop, the man's jovial attitude as contagious as always given the boisterous atmosphere of the guild on this typical day. Makarov raised his mug of ale high, a drunken blush covering his features as the two arrivals greeted the master with smiles of their own.

"Congratulations on your job! I've already received word from Marigold's mayor commending you two for a job well done!"

The guild's interest in the conversation between Makarov, Naruto, and Mira suddenly rose as those who didn't notice the return of one of Fairy Tail's S-Class mages along with the new recruit directed their attention and began to listen in.

"The two of you left this morning and came back the very same day on an S-Class no less. Mira, I'm especially proud of you." Makarov stated with pride as the two in question walked to stand before him by the bar.

Mirajane gratefully smiled at the praise nodding her head at the master's words while her job partner merely grinned in unison.

"Hey, Naruto!"

Naruto looked towards the source of the voice to find an enthusiastic Natsu jogging up towards them accompanied by Happy. The dragon slayer had a bright grin marking his features as his sharpened canines glinted in the light. His clenched fist became engulfed in fiery, orange flames becoming akin to a miniature plume of fire.

"Let's fight!"

Naruto simply grinned upon seeing the return of Natsu's fervent confidence and attitude as he held out the open palm of his right hand.

Natsu's practically boisterous grin widened at the challenge, the electric signals sent from his brain tightened the muscles within his right arm as if gradually suppressing a volcano ready to erupt with all its might.

Posture ready and just as energetic, Naruto stood firm while the onlookers watched on with interest. No one except a select few, namely Mirajane or possibly Erza, knew what sort of abilities the blond possessed. As far as they were concerned this was the first chance to see up close what the new guy could do.

Natsu's feet stomped across the wooden floor of the guild at a breakneck pace causing nearby tables and chairs to bounce along upwards with each bellowing footstep.

In response, Naruto raised a single hand as a small flurry of gold-gilded chains erupted from his palm, each with a mind of its own, in the blink of an eye entangling Natsu's limbs with ease while suspending him in the air.

"Sorry Natsu, but there's always next time."

Natsu pursed his lips while blinking at his current predicament. His onyx eyes looked from the chains surrounding his right arm to the chains entangling his left. They eventually returned a heated glare towards their owner's captor.

"I can still fight."

"Can you really though?"

Natsu attempted to tug his arms free with all his might only for the bindings to coil around his limbs even tighter until they point they were just barely being yanked haphazardly.

"... Yes."

Naruto sighed given that he should have been expecting at least this much stubbornness when it came to Natsu. The boy was practically the spitting image of himself back in his younger days.

The jinchuriki's thoughts of reminiscence were cut short by a small, blue paw tapping his left shoulder earning his attention while his right was still held outwards restraining his assailant. His blue eyes glanced towards the source to find an equally exasperated Happy, feline ears curled downwards in resignation for his best friend's loss even though said partner was completely oblivious as he was entirely focused on escaping his bonds.

"Since Natsu's too dumb to give up, I'll do it for him." Happy plainly stated shaking his head sideways.

"You're quite the faithful partner as always, huh Happy?" Mirajane mischievously grinned from the side as she observed Natsu's diligent escape attempts.

"Aye!"

Naruto chuckled in agreement before adopting a thoughtful look upon his whiskered visage. "But you do know that if I let him go, he's probably going to attack me again, right?"

Happy seemed to hum in thought knowing full well how accurate the new guy's assessment was. A few seconds passed before the blue feline's eyes lit up. The flying cat curled its adorably small paws into a fist before making a punching gesture into the side of his head.

Naruto's expression suddenly shifted to one of recognition before he flexed his right index finger in a simple motion. One chain seemed to deviate from the rest as it stretched out like a floating whip before swinging itself to smash its blunt end into the back of Natsu's skull knocking him straight into the floor out cold.

Happy pranced towards his unconscious partner until he reached his side. The Exceed patted the pink-haired dragon slayer's head a few times before he faced Naruto and raised his hands into the air in a cross. The sound of a boxing bell being rung reverberated aloud simultaneously signaling a legitimate knockout. Naruto couldn't help but wonder who was the funny guy and how could he befriend them.

With the rather lighthearted confrontation out of the way, the other wizards swarmed the guild's most recent returning members, their curiosity filled to the brim just waiting to be sated.

"Welcome back, guys. How was the S-Class job?" Gray cooly questioned at the forefront of the mob despite having a multitude of questions he immensely wanted to ask.

"How many buildings did you blow up?"

"Screw that! How much were you paid?"

Naruto and Mirajane nervously smiled as they tried to voice an answer only to be cut off by another question.

"SETTLE DOWN!" Makarov bellowed, his voice booming over and drowning out the rest of the comparably weaker sounds.

Having reigned in his children, Makarov let out an aged sigh before waving his hand gesturing for either of the two returning members to speak.

Naruto and Mira looked to one another before the whiskered interdimensional traveler shrugged deciding to answer the inquiries in the order which they came.

"It wasn't too bad. We—well mostly Mira, fought a demon!"

"A demon?!" a repetition of disbelief being chorused by everyone present.

"H-Hey, you're kidding right?" Gray stuttered his mind regressing back to a particular moment in his memory he didn't like revisiting. He knew more than anyone knew firsthand just how terrifyingly powerful demons were.

"Mira, I can't believe you fought one so soon. Are you okay?" Levy McGarden, a petite blue-haired young girl known for her brains and cuteness, worriedly asked.

"Thank you Levy, but don't worry I'm fine." Mira answered as she smiled as reassuringly as she could. The Takeover wizard

Naruto's statement had the prominently visible effect of sending nearly every listener into a frenzy as many could not believe a demon had actually resurfaced. Nearly all demons had been created by the Black Wizard Zeref, yet the man's creations still lingered on despite the wizard having supposedly perished centuries ago.

"Wait, if Mira fought a demon then what did you do?" Natsu questioned as he joined the crowd by the bar. Naruto could not help but note the way the fire wizard tenderly rubbed the back of his head where one particular part stung greatly to the touch, a part of him feeling both amused and guilty.

"I didn't do too much really." Naruto answered after a brief pause as he hummed in thought. "I just saved the hostages."

Mirajane elbowed Naruto's side as her expression mirrored one of perplexity.

"Naruto, didn't you have to fight about 300 of his hellhound familiars?"

"Mira, you've gotta be kidding right?" a feminine and disbelieving voice drawled from behind the crowd. The guild parted like a sea to reveal Cana Alberona, a well known beauty, sitting upon one of the bar stools at the counter as she cut in on the rather interesting topic. "Are you seriously telling us there was a literal army of demon dogs on the job too? And this new guy of all people who tagged along beat _all_ of them?"

The level of social ineptness a person had to be at to not even SEE the almost visible sarcastic doubt dripping from Cana's tone had to be at the minimum 10,000 miles above the planet's atmosphere.

"Nah, it was really more like 200." Naruto offhandedly corrected with a dismissive wave. "Hardly an army. It was actually more like a horde."

As someone who specialized in numbers, he would know of course.

"Of course. How could I not know the difference." Cana scoffed rolling her eyes in the process.

Naruto pursed her lips at the grating woman's self-satisfied smirk having successfully dug her way beneath the blond's skin.

"Yeah well you probably would if you read more books and didn't drink alcohol all the time." he hastily retorted. "That stuff really isn't good for you at that age."

There was a silence in the air. Even Makarov had to take a moment to process Naruto's 10 year-old comeback that had completely caught him off guard.

The realization of his rebuttal didn't dawn upon Naruto until a few seconds after as he realized just where it had come from.

 **A Couple Days Ago**

" _Hah~, I'm so bored, Ras." An impish boy groaned aloud from his seat atop the Magnolia Orphanage's wall._

" _Tell me about it, Grib." Another bemoaned equally bored as his friend. "Nothing interesting ever happens, man. I mean seriously, I wish something interesting would hap—"_

" _OOoooh wheee! There's just nothing that can beat this! Ain't that right, Nix?"_

 _The two boys looked towards the source of outburst finding it to be one of the many sailors indigenous to Magnolia. Given Magnolia's quaint yet still impressive port, it wasn't too rare to see the crews of merchant ships here and there. The rowdy seafarer had just left a bar, a drunken scarlet dressing his cheeks, as he leaned on an equally inebriated buddy of his with one hand while the other slung around a half empty bottle of liquor._

" _Are you kidding, Beck? There's nothing I look forward to more than getting hammered after a long trip." the sailor referred to as Nix replied in agreement holding a bottle of his own._

 _The two comrades of the sea laughed uproariously smacking each other on the back as they hobbled there way back to port._

 _Ras and Grib's gazes remained on the departing sailors' backs until they both rounded a corner and out of their sight. The two boys looked towards one another, their minds both coming to the same conclusion._

 _Grib bit down on his lip before speaking in a quieter tone than what he was reputed for around the church. "H-Hey, Ras. Have you ever drank b-beer before?"_

 _Ras, feeling much the same, shook his head glancing over his and Grib's shoulder before whispering back to his friend. "No, but I really wanna know if it's as good as those guys said it is. You think Father Brock would let us try some if we asked?"_

" _Dude, are you kidding? We're both twelve and you know how he always lectures us about it. I bet we could find some if we raid the fridge."_

" _But…"_

" _Hey, whatcha guys doing?"_

 _Grib and Ras both yelped in surprise losing their balance on the wall causing them to tumble backwards off of it landing in a pained heap of limbs on the church's courtyard. The two groaning boys looked upwards into the bemused, blue eyes of their orphanage's newest resident._

" _Naruto! Don't sneak up on us like that!" Ras shouted, his face aflame._

" _Why do you always show up out of nowhere?!" Grib yelled, his face's pigment identically the same as Ras. "You're like a freaking ninja!"_

 _Naruto couldn't refrain from outright laughing at the two adolescents dirtied faces from when they hit the dirt in addition to Grib's last statement. Oh, if they only knew._

" _I was just walking by when I heard something interesting. What's this about a fridge raid for alcohol?"_

 _Ras and Grib paled considerably before the latter spluttered incoherently in an attempt to talk their way out of this._

" _We were just talking about… stuff! You know! Um—"_

" _Guys, I heard the whole thing…" Naruto deadpanned, face reflecting both offense at the fact that they thought they could slip one under him and regret at the fact that he probably tried to do the same thing on more than one occasion at his age._

 _The two boys sighed morosely knowing the jig was up._

" _Are you going to tell, Father Brock?" Ras asked, the dejection evident in his voice._

" _Nah." Naruto answered with a dismissive wave surprising the two juveniles. "To be honest, when I was a little older than you I actually tried some of that stuff on accident."_

 _Grib seemed to perk up at that, the curiosity nearly glimmering in his childish coffee brown eyes. "And? Was it good?"_

 _Ras listened intently as well awaiting the well-known blond's answer. In the short time he was here, nearly all of the kids at the orphanage had grown to love and respect the older boy._

 _Naruto took a deep breath, the excitement of the boys inflating with each passing second._

" _It sucked."_

 _Before it promptly deflated with two simple words._

" _I had some sake before and it tasted awful and my mouth felt gross for hours." Naruto stated, his voice hollow as his eyes glazed over with the unpleasant memories of Jiraiya attempting to make him drink._

" _My, my, may I ask what you are doing, Naruto?"_

 _The three boys stiffened at the sound of the pleasant elderly voice behind them as the three almost mechanical sounds of their necks oscillating creaked with unearthly slowness._

 _Finally looking up into the deceptively jovial visage of Father Brock, the expressions of Miscreant 1, 2, and 3 respectively all turned as pale as a ghost._

" _What's this I hear about drinking, Naruto? A young man such as yourself shouldn't be leaving such a bad impression on our humble church's youth. Why don't we have a chat to educate you on the proper behaviors, hm?"_

 _Naruto yelped as Father Brock's vice grip locked itself around the collar of his shirt as it began to drag him away. The two boys watched with wide eyes as the well regarded brother figure of the church was dragged away as their metaphorical scapegoat._

" _You brats so owe me for this, you hear!"_

 _Ras and Grib gulped simultaneously as both were soon going to become fully aware why no one ever messed with Naruto._

 **Present Time**

On a completely unrelated note, the two boys' definition for the word "prank" had been updated in their own mental dictionary from, "a practical joke or mischievous act" to "Naruto's preferred method for revenge".

Ras and Grib would be made fun of for weeks as both had their hairs dyed pink and green respectively, neither one ever remembering when such an event had even happened.

Ahh, that had been a pleasant time of his life. Father Brock had lectured him for hours on end on the harmful effects of alcohol and why an exemplary youth such as he shouldn't be imprinting bad behaviors like that on "innocent" children. He even made him read nearly every damn book in the church's library! Thank God for the second Hokage creating the Shadow Clone Technique.

Needless to say, Naruto felt his cheeks begin to burn after making a come back only a parent would make. The burning was made worse by Cana's raucous laughter echoing across the hall with a few guild members snickering as well.

"A-Are you seriously lecturing me on abstinence?" Cana managed to choke out in between her breaths and laughs. "What are you? A grandma?"

"S-Shut up! That stuff still isn't good for you!" Naruto shouted back, cheeks completely crimson.

A delicate hand placed itself upon his shoulder. Recognizing the touch to be Mira's, Naruto looked to his friend finding that even she was snickering albeit more controlled than the rest of the guild's wizards who were outright laughing.

"Although that's not exactly how I would argue it, I'm not too much of a drinker myself, Naruto."

"See! Mira gets it!" Naruto smiled with a bright gleam knowing there was at least one person on his side.

"Eh, I don't really like ale that much either."

This time Natsu had been the one to slip in his own two cents on the discussion raising his hand from within the crowd.

Naruto's smile seemed to perk up even more as he grabbed Natsu into a headlock eliciting a yelp from the dragon slayer.

"That's my guy!"

Hey, if there was anything Uzumaki's never do, it was to step down in an argument. Even if you were totally alone, it was standard Uzumaki policy to just plant your feet and don't budge a single inch. It's probably why Kushina never lost on both the battlefield and household disputes.

No offense to his father, but Naruto decided he was never going to be as whipped as him someday. Yep, he would be the one to wear the pants.

"And you wanna know what I say to that?" Cana began with an all-too confident smirk as she raised her mug to her lips unaware of the approaching head of red hair. "Abstinence is for pussi—"

"Oh, hello Naruto. I see you have returned."

Cana spit out her drink in an almost comical fashion, ale flying through the air like a bursting geyser, as the person who now stood behind her was none other than Fairy Tail's Erza Scarlet.

The Queen of the Fairies looked to the impish brunette beside her, her expression being one of genuine confusion before her chocolate-brown eyes landed on the large barrels of Magnolia ale resting next to Cana. Her eyes narrowed in addition to a frown.

"Cana, how many times have I told you to control your drinking habits? Alcohol is not good for the body and should be consumed in moderation.".

Cana continued to cough while thumping her chest a few times in order to clear out her lungs. "E-Erza… y-you're back I see…?"

A totally "subtle" snort caught Cana's attention finding it to have come from the newbie rocking an utterly insufferable grin. "So what were you saying earlier, Cana?"

Cana gave Naruto a glare that could burn holes straight through a glacier while still being hot enough to evaporate it into the air. She continued to direct her scowling visage towards the object of her annoyance before huffing in concession. "You may have won this one, but don't think this is over."

"Don't think what is over?" Erza asked, both curious and confused as to the nature of the dispute between Cana and Naruto.

"It's nothing." Mira replied with a sigh waving her hand non-committedly. "Anyway, how was your job?"

As if suddenly reminded of something equally important and unpleasant, Erza frowned displeased.

"Speaking of my job, I had originally intended to invite Naruto on an A-Rank quest in order to help him build up his finances, yet upon returning to the guild I found that the two of you had already left."

Mirajane seemed to grin proudly having, in her opinion, shaken off unwanted baggage on a job where both she and Naruto were more than enough.

"Oh, sorry about that Erza. I didn't know you wanted to come." Naruto apologized his attitude as easygoing as usual. "Maybe next time?"

Erza sighed before nodding in agreement. "Very well. I know you are still new to Fiore so if you are in need of money, I will gladly accompany you on a job."

"Unfortunately, I don't think that money will be too necessary anymore Erza."

Erza's hazel eyes shifted to Mirajane's sky blue as they narrowed challengingly.

"And just what are you insinuating, Mirajane? Are you implying that I am not an adequate partner?"

Mirajane hid a devilish grin behind the back of her hand, the tone of her voice not betraying the facade of innocence while a slim hand placed itself on Naruto's shoulder. "I would never. I'm simply saying that our last job was _way_ more profitable than any A-Rank reward which is why it would be unnecessary to join you when he has me."

Although she would never admit it aloud, it did bother Mira a slight bit every time Erza tried to take Naruto out on a job. Meh, it was probably just her imagination.

Erza's gaze narrowed further at the unnecessary action, almost as if her rival was declaring him to be her own dedicated partner.

"What could possibly be more profitable than an A-Rank job other than a…"

Erza began to trail off as the realization dawned in her eyes in the form of a flash of sudden understanding.

"You… You took an S-Class job?!"

"Yep." was Naruto's brief reply as both he and Mira held up their briefcases.

"Master!"

The ever so dignified warrior looked to their guild's master with both appall and dubiety in her chestnut eyes.

"How could you have possibly let someone who joined so recently to undertake an S-Class request?"

There was a reason their guild held their yearly S-Class promotion exams. If someone who wasn't ready attempted an S-Class quest, a few scratches and bruises could be considered the best possible outcome.

She believed herself to be at fault for being too lenient with the rules, and had decided never to allow a slip-up to happen again.

"He was accompanied by Mira, an S-Class mage, which isn't against the rules." Makarov stated with an observing eye. "I don't see why I should have stopped him."

"Also why are you so sorried?" Mirajane asked with a knowing smirk. "He did beat you easily, remember?"

A few gasps were heard around the hall, this being the first of anyone ever hearing of such a development.

Erza jerked at the sharp and quick reply, yet remained firm. "Even so, he is still a new member and our guild has rules and regulations that must be upheld."

The redhead had always tried her utmost to follow Fairy Tail's laws that had been set in stone since its founding, yet after Lisanna's passing she refused to stand idle and let history repeat itself once more.

Among the hushed whispers and murmurs, Naruto felt a tap on his shoulder and looked to the finger's owner to find Natsu cupping a hand over his mouth as he whispered his own question.

"Wait, did you really beat THE Erza?" Natsu asked, voice incredulous and utterly stunned.

"It was kind of awhile ago." Naruto whispered back with a hand over his own mouth. "Why do you sound so shocked like I just beat a monster?"

"Because you did! Erza is Erza!"

"Hn, Hn, For once I have to agree with the moron." Gray added having appeared on Naruto's other side as he nodded his head in agreement.

"... You guys…"

"Everyone settle down!"

The undertone of the crowd was quelled by the authoritative boom of the Master. Makarov's wizened gaze rolled over each of his members before finally settling on Erza, the Wizard Saint's authority commanding the building's very atmosphere with an absolute iron-grip.

"Erza, while I understand your intentions of protecting our family, you must know that it was the belief of my predecessors that Fairy Tail was a place for moving forward onto new adventures into a brighter future. We cannot do so if we continue to be held back by the restraints of our past regrets and fears."

Naruto looked to Mirajane, watching as a sad, melancholic smile settled onto her tranquil countenance while many others did the same.

" _This isn't just about Lisanna._ "

The thought had crossed Naruto's mind closely watching every wizard's expression. Everyone here seemed to hold more regrets and compunctions than he had perceived. Guilt, shame, fear, and countless other reservations of unease reflected off the emotions of every person present. Looking around, even Natsu and Gray's moods had noticeably become stifled. Reminiscing on their own unpleasant memories, Makarov continued although gentle noticing Erza being reminded of her own past.

"I want you all to listen closely. Life is in itself, its own greatest and mysterious contradiction. It fills us with happiness and joy for being able to receive its blessing. It endows us with the gift of meeting our closest friends and rivals. Some of you may even have the future loves of your lives standing right beside you, and you really might not even know it."

Makarov paused to chuckle softly to himself, his eyes wistful as they remembered the memories of his own youth. Other wizards listening in looked around, some finding their fellow Fairies doing the same.

Macao and Wakaba, two of the guild's most renowned veteran wizards known well for their long friendship, wrapped their arms over each other's necks while bumping their fists.

Team Shadowgear's Jet and Droy exchanged glances with one another, each one's gaze lingering slightly on their oblivious third member who was still enthralled in the speech of their Master. Trading their own confident smirks as if silently acknowledging one another as their rival in romance, each gave his own nod of respect before returning their focus to Makarov.

A pair of Western dressed wizards standing in one part among the vast mob gave each other quick glances before returning their eyes back to the stage, their faces beet red.

Catching a sudden shifting in his peripheral vision, Naruto looked to his left and right respectively to find Natsu and Gray both avoiding the very sight of their opposite. An unanticipated swelling of nostalgia welled up in Naruto's gut as his mind reflected the past memory of his first meeting with Sasuke as respective members of Team 7 where they took their team photos with Kakashi and Sakura as well.

Back then, he and Sasuke were much the same when it came to being rivals.

Slinging his left and right arms over the two hot-blooded rivals necks, Naruto caught them unprepared as he yanked them in close with an infectious grin spilling out, his grip refusing to let go of the simultaneously struggling duo.

"Hey! Let go...!"

"What he said…!"

The dragon slayer of fire and practitioner of ice both hissed their own hushed strings of curses unwilling to interrupt and draw Makarov's ire while he was still in the middle of his speech.

"Quiet down, I can't hear the old man if you guys are going to be loud." Naruto grinned back with an easygoing smile.

Looking for the fourth member of their little group, Naruto's eyes met Mirajane's gaze that seemed to have been lingering on the three of them for a while.

Noticing that she had been staring, Naruto gave her a playful wink in return.

The slight widening of Mirajane's eyes as well as the obvious reddening of her cheeks having been caught were all seen much to Naruto's amusement as the girl quickly redirected her gaze to Makarov who began to speak once again.

"Life is our greatest blessing and gift; however, at the same time it can be considered to be the very root of the suffering and sadness we are forced to endure as humans. Hunger, abandonment, loss, and every form despair introduces itself as are all excruciating traumas that we all face as people while traversing the path life takes us through. Some even believe that neither joy nor sorrow can exist without the other, and no matter what we will always be left with one while the other remains absent..."

A heavy sigh escaped Makarov's lips after having to concede before an absolute rule of the universe. While many in the furthest reaches of the crowd felt their own helplessness continue to grow in the face of the unknown, those closest to Makarov in the front rows were able to watch as a thinned pair of lips began to twitch into an uncontrollable grin.

"Which is why I call bullshit." he stated with brazen flair surprising many of the younger wizards before him. "Look around you. I want each and every one of you brats to look beside you and remember the faces of those next to you. I can very well attest to how terrifying it is having to stand face-to-face with an unforeseeable enemy or future, but it is at times like those that we need to trust the people closest to us to keep us grounded. No matter how hopeless, insurmountable, and inescapable a situation may appear, rely on the ones closest to you and face it together!"

Makarov thrust his finger upwards pointing towards the large Fairy Tail emblem emblazoned on their guild hall's main wall, his voice and eyes beaming with pride and power before the face of their cherished guild symbol.

"This mark is the same mark that binds us all together. It is the mark of the best damn guild on the continent! It is the manifestation of us! Remember this! Fairy Tail!"

The guild hall's sturdy foundations shook to their very core as a thunderous roar of applause of cheering erupted throughout the crowd. Whistles and bellows of approval rocked the floor and created rippling vibrations that traveled across the air in tangible waves.

Even Naruto couldn't help but cheer for the miniscule wizard. The man really had a dramatic flair for speeches.

As the acclamation and fervor of Fairy Tail's electric atmosphere began to die down, Erza simply shrugged her shoulders in defeat, a beatific smile adorning her lips.. "Very well, Master. In that case, would it be too unreasonable to ask that Naruto be promoted?"

Makarov's expression lightened to one of genuine surprise and curiosity. Attentive as usual despite his nonplussed demeanor, he still distinctly heard Mirajane mentioning the young man besting Erza in battle mere moments ago.

"Erza, was Mira's claim from before true?"

The scarlet knight nodded, her proud stance as dignified as ever emphasized by her signature Heart Kreutz breastplate. "It is true, Master. Naruto has even defeated both Mira and I at the same time."

It was kind of strange watching so many people talk about him like he wasn't standing adjacent to them in the first place. It was like they weren't even looking at… him.

Naruto blinked having to stand before countless pairs of eyes focused solely on him.

" _H-Hey, when did they actually remember I was here…?_ "

"So, Fishcake." Cana began with an indolent grin gracing her features.

"That's not what my name means, but what you drunkard?"

"Well in case my ears are working correctly, what's this I hear about beating two of our strongest S-Class mages like it was a walk in the park?"

"Cana…" Mirajane interjected with a clearly forced smile.

The silver haired girl had intentionally left out the details of her own loss to the blond rookie, yet whether or not Erza brought that to light as as an unintentional detail or as a stab in return to her was not yet known.

Knowing her, Mira would bet good money on the latter.

The sweet smile promising pain, both physical and mental, served well to force down any retorts and arguments that would arise in return if the current conversation was to continue. The brown-haired troublemaker merely sighed aloud while returning to her drink with a pout.

"Man, you really are no fun today..."

Meanwhile as Makarov hummed to himself, his hand idly rising upwards to stroke his mustache, he eventually reached a suitable conclusion. "While I agree it would be unfair to restrict someone from taking on requests due to an inaccurate rank, I can't simply push forward this year's S-Class promotion exams for a single person. It would be unjust for those I have yet to deem worthy this coming year."

"Surely, there must be some other way to test Naruto for an advancement." Erza spoke continuing to push. "Perhaps he could prove his worth through a combat event or maybe—"

"The Black Stone Job."

Everyone standing on Fairy Tail's lower floor looked upwards to the top railing where Laxus stood resting his chin on the wooden bannister. The grandson of Makarov portraying a haughty grin as he stared directly at his fellow blond.

Naruto offered a raised brow in response to the other blond's vehemence filled suggestion. As far as he knew, Naruto had never even talked to the guy so why was he looking at him like he killed and ate his dog? Also what was the Black Stone job?

"No."

Naruto and several others looked to Makarov in both surprise and slight shock, the sound of honed, biting steel entering the tone of his voice.

"There is no one here that is ready for a decade quest, especially one that has caused the disappearance of many S-Class mages."

"Why not, Gramps?" Laxus questioned, his voice gruff and clipped having been clumped into the group of those not considered ready. "Are you really that hypocritical after giving that bloated, over-the-top speech about facing new challenges together? Besides an S-Class job is way too easy to do if a promotion is on the line."

" _I actually liked the old man's speech though…_ " Naruto thought, his eyes squinted like a fox decidedly choosing to ignore the rest of what Laxus was saying.

"Laxus, the Black Stone request is a decade quest for a reason. No one has completed that request in a decade. EVEN S-Class wizards! Hundreds of them have disappeared over the years and I will NOT risk the lives of my wizards, and that goes for you too Laxus."

Laxus had pestered his bull-headed grandfather for weeks now in an attempt to take on The Black Stone Decades Quest with his Thunder God Tribe yet each time he had been shot down. There were no S-Class quests that offered a challenge to him, and the most closest thing to a worthwhile quest had been taken by Mira at last second.

Laxus stared hard into his grandfather's own stalwart glare before growling and turning on his heel making to leave. He was far stronger than any other weakling here and if his own grandfather wouldn't believe it, he'd make him. No matter what it took.

For a while, most thought that would be the end of that conversation. At least until someone spoke up to cut the tension that was so thick you could cut it by swinging a butter knife through the air.

"Hey, old man if you can't send one S-Class person with me as a test, then why don't you just send an S-Class team?" Naruto asked with genuine curiosity.

It was common sense wasn't it? Back in Konoha, the Hokage always sent teams to accomplish missions no matter the ranking. Even D-Rank Genin had to work in teams. The whole purpose was to develop teamwork and structure that could be put towards the good of the village and even then the difficulty rate of missions drastically decreased when working as a team to cover the shortcomings of each member.

Erza's expression suddenly lit up like a Christmas tree as she too found a new possibility she hadn't considered before. Although something like this had never been done before due to obvious personality clashes, in her opinion helping to promote Naruto to an S-Class ranking would not only bring Fairy Tail more prestige and attention, it would also mark the new arrival of another defender of the guild.

"Naruto has a point Master. If you send a team to accomplish the Decade Quest, we can also have more than one S-Class mage evaluate his abilities."

"I agree as well, Master." Mirajane said adding in her own opinion. "Erza and I can both go with him if it's a Decades Quest."

Although she would rather not venture on a job with Erza, it did not mean she didn't recognize Erza's immense strength and talent that were _almost_ close to her own in her opinion. As well as for a Decades Job? She wasn't that conceited to believe even she by herself stood a chance of even being useful enough to help.

Makarov groaned aloud in both weariness and frustration as he pinched the bridge of his nose in between his fingers. "Mira, I'm sorry but two S-Class mages is still not enough for a quest like this. You and Erza are still too young for something like this! I just can't on my own conscience send you two."

"Then how about three?"

Makarov suddenly paused upon seeing his grandson approach him after descending down from the upper floor's staircase. This time he had no response other than blatant astonishment seeing that his grandson had actually decided to step down from his pedestal at the top and in front of so many..

One, because this was the first time Laxus had come to the lower of floor of the guild of his own volition.

Two, because he was actually volunteering himself to help another human being other than himself.

… Now that he thought about it, he really, REALLY needed to have a talk with him. Maybe they could sign up for grandfather-grandson therapy?

While Makarov was sorting through his own emotional baggage and confusion, Laxus continued seeing more success in convincing his grandfather then he had in weeks.

"If it's all three of us, then there should be problem right? After all, the only other S-Class mage in the guild stronger than us is the hobo."

Laxus inwardly smirked hearing the rest of the cannon fodder in the guild murmur in agreement. Perhaps they were actually useful for something.

Meanwhile from a close distance away, Naruto quirked his eyebrows upwards in a manner of perplexment as he turned to his closest information aide.

"We have an S-Class Hobo that's stronger than you and Erza?" Naruto whispered confused just as much as how bizarre his question sounded.

Mirajane let out an unladylike snort in attempt to refrain from outright laughing at the offhand question while Laxus tried to persuade the Master for the benefit of the person who asked said question.

Even Erza couldn't help but stifle a chuckle hearing Naruto's inquiry a few steps away.

"It's a bit more complicated than that, but I'll explain later." Mira whispered back with Naruto nodding in return.

Makarov looked into Laxus's eyes as if searching for a reason to refute Laxus yet after seeming to fail he spoke again.

"And may I ask why you've decided to volunteer yourself for the sake of Naruto's promotion. Forgive me for being rude, but you haven't exactly been referred to as generous these past few years. You wouldn't happen to have any ulterior motives would you?"

Makarov was no fool. He knew full well what Laxus wanted and even though he still believed Laxus wasn't ready by himself or even with his Raijinshu, he couldn't deny the sensibility of Naruto's point. He felt significantly more reassured if it were a team of S-Class mages rather than just one.

"Of course not. I just want to see if the newbie really is ready to be an S-Class mage."

It was not a whole truth, but it was not entirely a lie either.

" _I wouldn't worry about us if I were you. I'd be more worried about your precious S-Class reputation because I'd bet a good amount of jewels that Naruto far surpasses you._ "

Mirajane's remark earlier that day still lingered in the recesses of his mind. Although he wouldn't publicly acknowledge it, Mirajane was still a strong wizard and gaining her respect was not an easy feat. In fact, he had never even heard her praise anyone like that until today which just begged the question.

Who was this guy? Going on a Decade Quest and having the opportunity to ask/threaten the rookie for information was too good of a chance to pass up.

"Besides gramps, I'm not the type of guy to have ulterior motives. **Right** , guys?"

The moment Laxus had turned around to face the crowd of mages behind him, his face had put on a showman's smile, benign yet furtive to the true underlying face beneath it. Laxus's smile was far too benevolent for someone of his reputation. While his question had sounded like one of innocent curiosity, the real message behind the wide smile and bulging veins on his forehead said, "Screw this up for me, and I'll kick the crap out of all of you."

" _Bullshit!"_ the entire mob yelled in their minds.

Needless to say, Makarov saw dozens of heads nod rapidly in response to the lightning user's question forcing a pinching of the nose in an attempt to soothe the growing head pains already imagining what his grandson's face looked like with his back turned.

"Very well." Makarov said after a long sigh. "You four may attempt the Decades Quest."

Erza and Mirajane's expressions brightened having succeeded in convincing the Master for their cause and for once, Laxus actually let a rare and genuine smile break through as he pumped his fist celebrating the victory.

"No way, is this really happening?" Macao muttered, onyx eyes wide with shock and mouth agape.

Hearing a soft yet audible thunk, Macao looked over to his right finding Wakaba in a similar state of shock having just dropped his pipe from the corner of his lips.

"It ain't a dream, man. I never thought I would see the day either."

From another section of the crowd, Gray visibly swallowed, cold sweat trickling down the back of his neck as the formation of Fairy Tail's undeniably strongest team solidified.

"Erza, Mira, AND Laxus all on one team…! Natsu, are you even seeing this?"

Gray looked to his immediate left expecting Natsu to be in an equal state of shock only to be left flabbergasted by a completely polar reaction from the dragon slayer.

"This ain't fair man." Natsu grumbled into the scaled scarf around his neck. "Lucky Naruto… I wanna go on a Decade Quest too…"

As if struck by lightning in the form of an epiphany, Gray suddenly remembered that there was actually a fourth person that would be attending this Decade Quest. In fact, he was technically the reason it was being attempted in the first place.

Looking to his right to find Naruto standing in the same spot he had been before, face lost in what appeared to be deep thought, Gray elbowed his shoulder eliciting a sudden shift in movement from the blue-eyed boy.

"Do you have any idea of what just happened?"

Naruto scratched the back of his head, glancing around as if remembering where he was, before shrugging his shoulders while giving a small nod of acknowledgement.

"I heard bits and pieces but It sounds like I'm going on another job."

A loud gurgling rumble that echoed throughout the room with a deep guttural growl diffused an atmosphere of surprise and tension leaving only surprise but for a completely different reason.

"As you can hear, I would much rather be on my way home where there's hopefully some dinner waiting with my name on it." Naruto sighed in self-pity as he rubbed his grumbling stomach.

Although he was looking forward to possibly receiving the first promotion he would receive in four years, he was still a normal person who appreciated the simple things in life… like dinner for starters. He hadn't even eaten lunch today!

Laxus's smirk fell apart as his lips twisted into a distasteful frown as if he was remembering something, or rather someone, that would be accompanying him. He honestly hoped this guy had at least some clue of what he was in for. After all it wasn't too uncommon for accidents to occur on S-Class jobs.

"Hey, newbie. Show up at 8:00 sharp tomorrow morning. We're leaving as soon as we can."

Laxus spared a paltry glance to both Erza and Mirajane before scoffing and continuing his gait towards the building's exit.

"That goes for the both of you too. Who knows? You may actually get to prove those titles aren't just for show."

As Laxus left the building, chest held high and confidence unhindered all the while, the rest of the guild could only watch on, some in regret and pity, others in annoyance and concealed displeasure, and the last one being exasperation.

"Wow, I can really tell tomorrow's going to be one _fun_ day." Naruto blandly sighed, his tone laced with underlying sarcasm.

Hearing a concealed chuckle behind him, Naruto turned around to a tap on the shoulder finding Mira standing behind him.

"It's fine, I'm sure you'll do just fine. Anyway I'm sure you're super hungry after a day like this, so why don't you come to my house for dinner?"

"Oh, are you serious?" Naruto asked his tone stricken with light disbelief and underlying anticipation. During their training sessions, Mira had brought small homemade meals on more than one occasion allowing Naruto to experience her sensational cooking skills firsthand. One of his personal favorites was probably the egg over rice lunch box with a side of roasted saury.

" _Crap, I'm actually drooling remembering it._ " Naruto internally said, a dreamlike expression upon his face. "Your food is seriously the best, Mira."

"Mmhmm, I don't mind. Come on, let's get you something to eat." Mira smiled leading the way out of the building.

"Alright, we'll see you guys tomorrow!" Naruto called out as he walked towards the exit following Mira with a noticeable spring in his step.

Watching the departing backs of the pair, Gray suddenly picked out a keyword from the exchange.

"Speaking of homes…" Gray began remembering the whiskered teen's recently arrived status. "Where has he been staying these past few days? Did you take him in Natsu?"

"Uh, no? I thought gramps gave him a room downstairs in the basement?"

Natsu and Gray's expressions remained neutral as they, with deliberate slowness highlighting the recovery of their cognitive ability, redirected their blank stare towards Makarov who had begun to sweat profusely as he found himself on the receiving end of not one, but countless disbelieving, hollow stares following the first two's example.

The heavy air persisted until Makarov finally broke, standing as tall or as tall as he could naturally appear, to properly defend himself despite his flustered face.

"Well excuse me! I'm sorry I forgot after I was too busy crying in my office over the thousands of jewels I would need to repair the entire damn building after you idiots were done partying!"

At this point many of the impassive stares fell away as most of the wizards nodded to one another agreeing in the validity of Makarov's defense.

 **Path towards Strauss Residence**

"Naruto, can you please stop grinning like that...? You look really creepy to other people." Mirajane whispered to the side as she averted meeting the estranged stares of passerbys focused on the unwanted attention magnet beside her.

After leaving the guild, Mirajane had decided to take Naruto to a bank to open up an account for his first job's reward money. Before going in, the S-Class wizard had reassured the blond that the bank was both trustworthy and reliable as she had been using their services for years.

The process had not taken too terribly long as the only things Naruto needed to provide was his name, organization affiliation, and deposit. Needless to say, the teller was more than a little flabbergasted by the sheer quantity of money being deposited initially. Even the bank's owner came from her office to greet them after hearing of a new client investing 10 million jewels into their bank. With Fiore's banking system, Naruto would be able to access his money from any bank inside Fiore or any other automated teller machine on the continent.

In addition, Naruto had started to get a general idea of the typical pricing in Fiore. The prices for most items like food or other everyday objects typically ranged from 100 jewels to 10,000 jewels depending on if they were considered items for luxurious living. Anything over that typically fell under categories like transportation or real estate.

Grinning with overindulgent glee now that his financial situation had been settled thanks to Mira, Naruto's upbeat attitude was emphasized by the light humming accompanied by the back-and-forth rocking of the substantially lighter briefcase held in his hand.

"I can't help it! I've only had the tasty small lunches you make and it's the first time I get eat dinner made by you. I love your cooking!"

Mira slightly stumbled, a faint warmth permeated her cheeks upon hearing Naruto's words that filled her stomach with an inexplicable jittery feeling. It felt as if something were boiling within her creating small twitches in her movement.

"Hey, you okay there?" Naruto asked reaching out for Mira having watched her almost trip.

"I-I'm fine." she briskly responded pushing Naruto's hand away. She couldn't deny the frustration she felt having almost tripped for no apparent reason.

"Anyway, I don't mind having you over for dinner if you're hungry. You can just drop by even if you feel like it."

"I'd love to." Naruto said before sighing in knowing weariness. "Unfortunately, the Church is on the completely opposite side of town, so it's a little out of the way for me."

"Ah, I guess that's true." Mirajane agreed, feeling a slight bit of disappointment. Pushing the negative sentiment aside, she suddenly remembered a subject she had been meaning to ask Naruto about. "Speaking of which…" Mira began her sky blue eyes drawn towards the matching briefcase in Naruto's hand. "Are you planning on getting an apartment now that you have the money?"

Holding up her own briefcase, Mirajane continued to explain the significance of the amount.

"We both got ten million jewels from the job and rent for apartments in this town typically range from 50,000 to 80,000. Even if you rented out a cheap apartment, you'd pretty much be set for years."

"My own apartment, huh?"

"Yeah, there's actually a lot of homes on the real estate market right now since most people tend to live in towns with well-known guilds. If you look around, you'll see some houses have for sale signs in their windows"

As they made their final turn onto the block the Strauss's home was located on, Naruto diligently followed behind Mira as the white-haired woman withdrew a key from her jean pocket before opening the door to her home.

Taking the first step inside, she blinked curiously upon not hearing a second set of steps following and turned around to see Naruto still standing outside the door looking towards something outside.

"Naruto? Are you coming in?"

Remembering he was just standing and staring off into space like an idiot, Naruto slightly jumped before holding up a hand to wave off Mira's concerns.

"Sorry, but I just remembered something I need to do. I'll be back in a few."

Sky-blue eyes watching on as Naruto closed the door before jogging off in the direction he had been staring towards, Mira quirked her eyebrows in suspicion before merely shrugging her shoulders.

She knew well enough that Naruto operated in strange ways.

"Well, at least he knows the way back."

Meanwhile outside as soon as Naruto had passed the windows of Mira's home essentially leaving her line of sight, he had infused his feet with chakra and blitzed towards the block's corner traveling the distance of forty meters in under half a second.

To the untrained eye, it would have looked like a simple, orange jacket-wearing blond boy teleporting from the middle of the street to the other end.

Standing hidden behind the corner now reeling back in shock at both how quickly he had been detected and found, Elfman staggered backwards once he found himself under the highly calculative gaze belonging to Naruto.

Realizing who it was that had been spying on him, Naruto's incriminating gaze lightened significantly until there was not a single speck of intimidation within them.

"Oh, it's just you Elfman. You should've said something if you saw us. I've been wondering who had been watching us these past few weeks."

During the week he had been training Mirajane, Naruto had been told by Kurama that there was a third presence in their nearby vicinity when he had first been called for by Naruto who had needed a bit of his chakra at the time.

The aged, primordial fox had stated that there were unclear and flickering negative emotions coming from the presence, but there had not been any malicious evil. It was because of the target's confused and conflicted state of mind that Kurama couldn't precisely pinpoint where they were coming from as the emotions continued to bounce back from neutral to negative. As a precaution, Naruto had asked Kurama to entrust him with a bit of his chakra so he could continue to monitor the hidden person's location to which the Kyuubi graciously complied with despite disregarding any possible concerns of the presence posing a threat.

Thus throughout the week, Naruto had a clone continue to check on their private spy finding that despite the scout's daily scheduled appearance, they had no intention of attacking them.

Naruto had been ready to simply dismiss the matter as some curious kid until he had detected the same presence just around the corner. Not wanting to miss this chance, he had spared no effort in moving to find and potentially capture them until he found that it had just been Elfman all along.

"You… You knew it was me?" the giant of a man stuttered, mouth agape in befuddlement.

"No, I didn't until now." Naruto admitted as he placed one hand on the back of his neck in relief. "Do you know how weird it is knowing someone is watching you but not knowing who it is? You've had me paranoid for this entire week, y'know?"

"Sorry…" Elfman muttered slightly shamefaced. "I… I have a request I need to ask of you."

Naruto's expression became one of genuine surprise before shifting to one of curiosity. The jinchuriki had been meaning to talk to Elfman for a while as he had not seen him since the day of the funeral, but he had no idea that the large human had been meaning to ask him for something.

Before he could ask the middle Strauss sibling what he needed, Naruto was left stunned as Elfman lowered his entire frame from the waist up forming a near perfect right angle, his entire body below Naruto's chin.

"Naruto, please help me become stronger. I know…" Elfman paused to push down the lump that had formed in his throat. "I know that you must still hate me for what I did to Lisanna. It was my own selfishness that caused it, and even now I am making a thoughtless and inconsiderate request of you but please…"

Looking down as Elfman inclined his head upwards, Naruto met the most steely gaze he had ever seen on the male Strauss since arriving to Earthland before he lowered his head once more. The jinchuriki knew that Elfman prided himself on living up to the ideals of a man but to lower his head and prostrate himself like so?

"Elfman…" Naruto began before instantly sighing noticing the many stares they were drawing with the odd display.

Screw it, since when did he care what people thought! Who cared if there was a massive human giant bowing to him like he was royalty! He was Uzumaki freaking Naruto!

"I think we got off on the wrong foot because I don't hate you."

Grabbing the front collar of Elfman's shirt with both hands before pulling him up to his feet, Naruto ignored Elfman's astonished stare before resuming his statement.

"That day on the train, when I heard what you did I wasn't mad by what you did, I was mad by why you did it."

Naruto rubbed the back of his neck, inwardly cursing his luck. Nearly every single person here kept reminding him of himself or someone he knew at some point back in the Elemental Nations. Although he didn't hate telling people like Mira bits of his history, he didn't necessarily like sharing those bits either as they always managed to unpleasantly remind him of his worst moments.

"Listen, I once knew a guy who always followed one rule in life, and that was to protect and keep his word no matter what. If he made a promise, you could be sure he'd go to hell and back to keep it even if the entire world was against him." Naruto paused to chuckle a bit, reminiscing about the younger days when there wasn't anyone on his side save for a select few. "He was arrogant, cocky, and he reminded me a bit of you."

Despite taking the small stab, Elfman disregarded it as he was entirely beguiled by the man of Naruto's tale.

"He once made a promise to a close friend of his, telling her that no matter the cost he would accomplish both of their dreams. However, in order to keep that promise he needed power."

It was at this point Naruto's countenance grew far more somber than it previously had before. This did not go unseen by Elfman who grew tense as the tone of Naruto's story began to take a heavier turn.

"He needed power to reach his goal and so he resorted to more… unsavory methods at the time. He toyed with a dangerous power believing he could control it at the time, and when the moment finally came to use it he didn't just fail to reach his goal, he critically wounded his friend he made his promise to and almost killed her."

Naruto leaned his back against the nearby wall feeling significantly more tired as the fatigue from the mission earlier today began to kick in once again.

"That guy I knew Elfman, was me. And back then, I was mad at you because you reminded me of myself at that time. I'm not perfect, I'm pretty much the furthest thing there is from perfection because I know I've screwed up more times than I can count over the years. I know exactly how you feel because I've stood in the same place where you're standing right now."

Elfman clenched his fists into tight balls once again suffering from the overwhelming guilt and self-directed hate that he had been trying to hold back for days.

"If you know how I feel then please, tell me how I stop the pain that throbs in my chest or the sickness I feel in my stomach. How can I become strong enough to throw away these feelings." Elfman asked, desperation leaking in his voice.

"Back then, I felt alone. Like there was no one who could possibly understand how I felt. I lost the confidence I once had in myself and thought I would never find it again until a guy who I consider one of my teachers told me to rely on my own power if I wanted to achieve my goal. Thanks to him and many others, I got strong enough to fight for what I believed in."

Naruto pushed himself off the nearby building's wall moving to stand before a conflicted Elfman once again.

"I know better than most that it's nearly impossible to become stronger on your own. Back then I didn't want anyone to have to go through what I did, and if I couldn't prevent it then at least I could stand beside and help them move forward."

Elfman's eyes widened as he suddenly stood straight up. "Then does that mean…?"

Naruto smiled before nodding in confirmation. "Yeah, I'll help you."

Elfman mirrored Naruto's smile with the same intensity but surpassed it in terms of brightness.

"However…" Naruto suddenly spoke losing all pretense of kindness cutting Elfman's elation short. "There is one condition."

Expecting to once again fall prey to Naruto's cold gaze from before, Elfman instead felt a dense fist lightly punch his chest choosing to remain there.

"Apologize to Mira. She's been worried sick about you all week."

Elfman lifted his chin up meeting Naruto's warmth-filled gaze and thousand-watt grin. Smiling once again, Elfman wordlessly nodded, overjoyed having found a glimmer of hope once more.

"Now let's go. I wanna eat Mira's home cooked meal right away." Naruto declared already marching his way back to the Strauss's front door.

Elfman let out a hearty chuckle hearing Naruto's reason for urgency as he jogged his way to blond until they both stood at the . "You won't be disappointed. Whatever Mira makes will completely blow you away."

Placing one hand on the door's handle while using his thumb to press open the handle lock, Elfman pushed the door open taking the first step inside where he was directly followed after by Naruto.

Hearing the door open, Mirajane clad in a black cooking apron moved towards the door where she was certain, or at least she thought she was, of who the arrival was.

"Hey Naruto have you seen Elfman? I can't seem to find…"

As Mirajane left the kitchen entering the home's living room, she found the person she was seeking in particular along with the person she had invited to her home.

"Elfman…"

The only brother of the Strauss family took three scant steps until he stood before his sister and pulled her into an embrace.

"I'm home, Mira…"

Surprised by the gentle giant's demeanor, Mirajane found herself returning the gesture finding the situation similar to when her younger brother often sought comfort when plagued by bad dreams. A small upturn of her lips filled with the encompassing warmth of the sun on a beautiful autumn afternoon graced her kind features as she softly soothed her shuddering brother with quiet and reassuring ministrations.

"Welcome home, Elfman."

Choosing to allow the two siblings a moment of privacy, Naruto quietly turned around to make sure to shut the front door. However just as he was about close the door, his sharp eyes caught a sign displayed in a house's window across the street emblazoned with big red letters saying, "For Sale". A grin creeped its way onto Naruto's whiskered visage.

" _Oh, this is going to be fun_."

 **Good to see you all again and I hope you leave a review on the way out.**

 **Nitty-Gritty AN stuff**

 **No this is not a dream, this is indeed an upload. As for my whereabouts over the course of 4 months, I have a little tale for all of you. Kids, preteens, and teens (adults already know this tale) there comes a time when we all have to find a dead-end soul sucking job that literally leaves us brain dead from the sheer amount of stupid shit we deal with to support ourselves through either school or life wherever you may be. The job pays decently well for someone of my experience but it doesn't really help the fact that I literally cannot formulate my thoughts onto digital paper. Anyhow, I'm still writing and I apologize for the really, REALLY long wait. I'll try my best to put the next one out sooner**

 **I'm not abandoning anything, I'm just really busy at this period of time. As for the DxD thing, I tried and couldn't find that much time for it so I figured I might as well just stick with FT so at least all of my free time can go there.**

 **I think that's everything. Oh yeah, I read this certain series in this section of crossover that just made me smile. Not in a mocking way or a sarcastic way, but it made me smile in genuine gratitude and respect for the ballsiness.**

 **Minipa's Trope Discussions and How to Not Suck Shit at Writing**

 **If you haven't read it and find yourself interested in writing or something read this and just don't do what this series tells you not to do. Minipa if you're reading this you have my respects.**


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